The NASA observatory “Swift” is to be saved from crashing with a rescue mission that is unique to date.Image: imago
June 26, 2026, 2:27 p.mJune 26, 2026, 2:27 p.m
With an unprecedented rescue mission planned at short notice, the US space agency Nasa wants to save a research satellite from crashing. To achieve this, a type of towed spaceship was to be launched on Saturday from an atoll in the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific using a “Stargazer” aircraft and a “Pegasus” rocket, NASA said. However, the start could be postponed at short notice.
The so-called “Swift” satellite was launched into space from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in 2004. Since then, the celestial observatory, which is equipped with three telescopes and is also called “Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory” after the mission’s chief scientist who died in 2017, has primarily been investigating huge energy bursts in the universe, so-called gamma-ray bursts.
The Swift satellite.Image: imago stock&people
“Central role” in NASA strategy
The mission was so successful that the celestial observatory now plays a “central role in NASA’s strategy for researching fleeting and unpredictable changes in the sky,” according to the US space agency. That’s why the mission, which was originally only planned to last around two years, was continually extended. According to the information, “Swift”, in which Italy and Great Britain also participate, is generally in good condition.
Due, among other things, to strong geomagnetic storms triggered by solar eruptions, the satellite is now in danger of crashing – according to scientists’ calculations, probably towards the end of summer. “It would be fine for a generic spacecraft to come out of orbit. But this isn’t just any spaceship. It is an observatory with unique capabilities for astrophysics,” said NASA manager Shawn Domagal-Goldman at a press conference. “So we decided: Yes, we want to save this this time because it is so special.”
Rescue spacecraft ready to take off
In September, NASA awarded the US space company Katalyst Space the contract for the rescue mission with a budget of around $30 million. The company developed, built and delivered the “Link” spacecraft, which weighs around 400 kilograms – with three robotic arms, three main engines and numerous other instruments – within just around nine months. After a successful launch, according to the plans, “Link” will first carry out some tests in space, then approach the “Swift” observatory and then lift it back into its original orbit over a period of several months.
If everything goes as planned, the “Swift” satellite, which is currently running in energy-saving mode, could provide scientific data again from autumn – and, according to scientists’ expectations, possibly for around five years or more. Once the mission was successfully completed, “Link” would fall back to earth and burn up in the atmosphere.
However, the success of the rescue mission is by no means guaranteed. “This is all challenging and risky,” said Kieran Wilson from Katalyst Space at a press conference. “Even many spacecraft that took much longer to develop and with much more money have failed for trivial reasons.” (sda/dpa)
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