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NASA’s Last-Ditch Rescue for Swift Telescope | San Antonio News
NASA’s aging Swift telescope, launched in 2004 to track cosmic explosions, is in danger of crashing into Earth due to solar storms accelerating its descent. In a high-stakes, nine-month scramble, NASA’s spending $30 million to send a custom-built three-armed spacecraft from Katalyst to rescue it—boosting it back to 224 miles altitude before it burns up by October. The mission faced launch delays and technical hurdles, but the rescue craft is now in orbit, ready to delicately grab and lift Swift without damaging its sensitive gear. This orbital rescue could become a blueprint for saving other…
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