A storied NASA observatory could be weeks away from falling to Earth after failed rescue attempt

Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA

A celebrated space telescope is rapidly dipping from its once-stable orbit and falling to Earth just shy of the 22nd anniversary of its launch.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will soon have to cease its science observations after a daring rescue mission’s attempt to boost its orbit failed over the summer.

Named after fast-flying birds, the telescope could quickly pivot to observe blink-and-you-miss-it cosmic events like flaring black holes . The telescope was originally designed to study the most powerful explosions in the universe, called gamma-ray bursts, but scientists have also used it to observe other types of cosmic flashes, as well as asteroids and comets.

The 3,200-pound (1,452-kilogram) observatory is currently located about 200 miles (325 kilometers) above Earth. But engineers estimate that once Swift drifts below 185 miles (300 kilometers) in early to mid-October, operating the telescope will become a challenge, according to NASA . Then, Swift will drop from orbit and is expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere during the plunge.

“While it’s possible some hardware from the Swift spacecraft may survive re-entry due to its size, the probability of debris causing significant property damage or physical harm to anyone is very small,” according to statement from space-tracking company LeoLabs shared with CNN via email. “More likely, as is the case with most debris that survives re-entry, it will fall into the ocean or on land that’s uninhabited.”

NASA didn’t respond to request for comment on the potential risks related to the observatory’s reentry.

Scientists hoped that a rapidly produced satellite called LINK, which was developed, built and launched by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies in just nine months, could grapple the telescope and lift it into a stable orbit.

The rescue mission to boost Swift failed just a few weeks after launching LINK in early July as the satellite spun out of control in space .

“From the beginning, this was a high-risk, high-reward mission,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, Astrophysics Division director at NASA, in a statement. “Without intervention, Swift was going to re-enter the atmosphere by year’s end. ”

NASA reveals new plan for Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft and commander of future mission

But NASA and Katalyst say LINK’s modified mission was not a wasted effort, with both groups learning lessons that could aid future space operations.

“And while we’ll be sad to see Swift’s mission come to a close, we knew this boost effort would be valuable to the agency on multiple levels — advancing U.S. spacecraft servicing technology, challenging us to meet unprecedented mission timelines, and testing how we operate satellites to extend their time in low Earth orbit,” Domagal-Goldman further stated. “We’re very proud of how quickly this team got so far, and we’re capturing lessons learned to ensure we’re ready to go even farther.”

Katalyst decided to forge ahead with its plan for LINK to rendezvous with Swift in mid-August, but as a demonstration rather than a rescue because of LINK’s ongoing orientation issues in space.

While Katalyst’s engineers were able to use the satellite’s thrusters to slow its unexpected spin and upload new flight software, the maneuver that reoriented LINK in space also depleted its propellant.

“As a result, Katalyst and NASA together determined that LINK no longer had sufficient fuel to safely execute the planned capture and orbit-raising phase of the mission,” according to Katalyst.

The satellite came within 7.5 to 9 miles (12 to 15 kilometers) of Swift the first week of September, practicing how a future servicing mission may approach a satellite or telescope — especially one like Swift, which wasn’t designed to be serviced in space.

LINK also deployed its three robotic arms, which were originally intended to grab Swift, and fired its three electric propulsion thrusters.

The satellite operated in space for 85 days before reentering Earth’s atmosphere on September 25, according to Katalyst .

NASA launches ‘discovery machine’ to unravel the invisible universe

“LINK was built to take on a problem that did not have an easy solution,” said Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space. “While we did not accomplish every objective we set out to achieve, in less than a year we went from mission concept to launching and operating the first commercial space robot. This is a foundation we can build on.”

Katalyst will apply data and lessons from LINK’s mission to its next generation of spacecraft that could be used to service existing missions in space.

“The future of space will require spacecraft that can do more once they get there. We’re building toward that future,” Lee said.

The Swift Observatory, which does not have an established observational replacement waiting in the wings, has served as an astrophysics multitool in low-Earth orbit since it launched in November 2004.

Swift’s mission scientists have slowly been turning the telescope’s instruments back on to collect data and make observations right up until the end — which is actually accelerating the observatory’s decline.

The instruments were shut off for months to reduce power use and keep Swift from sinking.

NASA Goddard/Intuitive Machines

New images reveal the impact site of SpaceX rocket’s moon collision

Swift was steadily losing altitude due to atmospheric drag, which was only magnified by an increase in solar activity over the past couple of years as the sun reached the peak of its 11-year cycle in 2024.

Intense flares and coronal mass ejections caused Earth’s atmosphere to expand, which intensified the drag on Swift, leading scientists to predict it would descend toward our planet in the fall, according to NASA.

“When Neil Gehrels, Swift’s namesake, designed the observatory, nothing like it had ever launched,” said S. Bradley Cenko, Swift’s principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “He would have celebrated that this boost effort was part of Swift’s legacy, that it allowed NASA to try something new and daring even though the outcome wasn’t guaranteed.”

戈达德太空飞行中心/美国国家航空航天局

一架著名的太空望远镜正迅速偏离其曾经稳定的轨道，并在发射22周年纪念日即将到来之际坠向地球。

尼尔·格雷尔斯·斯威夫特天文台在夏季一次大胆的轨道提升救援任务失败后，将不得不停止科学观测。

这架以飞行速度极快的鸟类命名的望远镜可以快速旋转，观测诸如黑洞爆发等转瞬即逝的宇宙事件。该望远镜最初的设计目的是研究宇宙中最强烈的爆炸——伽马射线暴，但科学家们也利用它观测其他类型的宇宙闪光，以及小行星和彗星。

这台重达3200磅（1452公斤）的天文台目前位于地球上方约200英里（325公里）处。但据美国宇航局（NASA）称，工程师们估计，一旦“雨燕”望远镜在10月初至10月中旬漂移到185英里（300公里）以下，操作它将变得极具挑战性。届时，“雨燕”将脱离轨道，预计在坠入地球大气层的过程中烧毁。

据太空追踪公司LeoLabs通过电子邮件发给CNN的一份声明称：“虽然Swift探测器的部分硬件有可能由于体积原因在重返大气层时幸存下来，但碎片造成重大财产损失或人员伤亡的可能性非常小。更有可能的是，就像大多数重返大气层后幸存下来的碎片一样，它会落​​入海洋或无人居住的陆地上。”

美国宇航局没有回应关于天文台重返大气层可能存在的风险的置评请求。

科学家们希望，由总部位于亚利桑那州的 Katalyst Space Technologies 公司在短短九个月内开发、建造和发射的名为 LINK 的快速生产的卫星，能够抓住望远镜并将其提升到稳定的轨道上。

在 7 月初发射 LINK 卫星几周后，拯救 Swift 卫星的任务失败了，因为该卫星在太空中失控旋转。

美国宇航局天体物理学部主任肖恩·多马加尔-戈德曼在一份声明中表示：“从一开始，这就是一项高风险、高回报的任务。如果不采取干预措施，雨燕卫星将在年底前重返大气层。”

NASA公布了波音公司问题重重的“星际客机”飞船的新计划以及未来任务的指挥官人选。

但美国宇航局和 Katalyst 公司表示，LINK 任务的修改并非徒劳之举，双方都从中吸取了经验教训，这有助于未来的太空行动。

“虽然我们很遗憾Swift卫星的任务即将结束，但我们知道这次助推任务对NASA来说意义非凡，它将在多个层面推动美国航天器维修技术的发展，挑战我们完成前所未有的任务时间表，并测试我们如何操作卫星以延长其在近地轨道上的停留时间，”多马加尔-戈德曼进一步表示。“我们为团队取得的如此迅速的进展感到非常自豪，我们正在总结经验教训，以确保我们能够走得更远。”

Katalyst 决定继续推进其计划，让 LINK 在 8 月中旬与 Swift 交会，但由于 LINK 在太空中持续存在方向问题，这次交会是一次演示，而不是一次救援。

虽然 Katalyst 的工程师能够利用卫星的推进器减缓其意外的旋转并上传新的飞行软件，但重新调整 LINK 在太空中方向的机动也耗尽了其推进剂。

“因此，Katalyst 和 NASA 共同认定，LINK 火箭已没有足够的燃料来安全执行计划中的捕获和轨道提升阶段任务，”Katalyst 表示。

9 月的第一周，这颗卫星接近了距离 Swift 7.5 至 9 英里（12 至 15 公里）的距离，演练了未来的维修任务如何接近卫星或望远镜——尤其是像 Swift 这样并非设计用于在太空进行维修的卫星或望远镜。

LINK 还部署了三个机械臂（原本是用来抓取 Swift 的），并启动了三个电推进器。

据 Katalyst 报道，该卫星在太空运行了 85 天后，于 9 月 25 日重返地球大气层。

美国宇航局发射“探索机器”揭开不可见宇宙的神秘面纱

“LINK项目的建立是为了解决一个没有简单解决方案的问题，”Katalyst Space首席执行官李根熙（Ghonhee Lee）表示。“虽然我们未能实现所有既定目标，但在不到一年的时间里，我们就从任务概念阶段发展到成功发射并运行了首个商业太空机器人。这为我们未来的发展奠定了坚实的基础。”

Katalyst 将把 LINK 任务的数据和经验应用到下一代航天器上，这些航天器可用于为现有的太空任务提供服务。

李说：“太空的未来需要航天器到达目的地后能够执行更多任务。我们正在朝着这个方向努力。”

自 2004 年 11 月发射以来，雨燕天文台一直作为近地轨道上的天体物理多功能工具发挥作用，目前还没有成熟的观测替代设备。

Swift 任务的科学家们一直在慢慢地重新启动望远镜的仪器，以收集数据并进行观测，直到最后——这实际上加速了天文台的衰落。

为了减少电力消耗并防止“斯威夫特”号沉没，这些仪器被关闭了数月。

NASA戈达德太空飞行中心/直觉机器公司

最新图像揭示了SpaceX火箭撞击月球的地点

由于大气阻力，Swift 卫星的高度一直在稳步下降，而过去几年太阳活动的增加，加剧了这一现象，因为太阳在 2024 年达到了其 11 年周期的峰值。

据美国宇航局称，强烈的耀斑和日冕物质抛射导致地球大气层膨胀，加剧了对雨燕卫星的阻力，科学家预测它将在秋季向地球坠落。

“当尼尔·格雷尔斯（以斯威夫特命名）设计这座天文台时，此前从未发射过类似的航天器，”美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心（位于马里兰州格林贝尔特）的斯威夫特首席研究员S·布拉德利·岑科说。“他会为这次助推发射任务成为斯威夫特遗产的一部分而感到欣慰，因为它让美国宇航局有机会尝试一些新的、大胆的计划，即使结果无法保证。”