Bold plan: NASA’s $30 million mission to keep Swift observatory from falling on Earth

NASA’s 1.4-ton Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a pioneering space telescope launched in 2004, is slowly falling toward Earth’s atmosphere — but a daring rescue mission is now underway. The observatory, famed for detecting gamma-ray bursts — the universe’s most powerful explosions — faces a 90% chance of burning up in the atmosphere by late 2026 if no action is taken. Advertisement

To prevent this cosmic catastrophe, NASA has awarded a $30 million contract to Arizona-based start-up Katalyst Space Technologies to conduct a complex orbital servicing operation. The mission will see a modified version of Katalyst’s “Link” spacecraft rendezvous with Swift, attach to the observatory using a robotic system, and push it into a higher orbit, giving the telescope several more years of life.

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