NASA calls off mission to rescue Swift gamma-ray observatory
摘要
NASA与Katalyst Space Technologies于7月3日发射的“Link”救援卫星，原计划用机械臂捕获Swift伽马射线望远镜并将其推至更高安全轨道，以避免其再入大气层。但Katalyst于本周三宣布，因Link卫星持续存在姿态控制问题，无法完成救援任务。卫星目前仍可运行，团队将利用其剩余能力，尝试接近Swift以演示近距离导航系统。
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies announced Wednesday they are giving up on a robotic mission to rescue the Swift gamma-ray telescope before it falls out of orbit.
The rescue satellite, named Link, launched July 3 on a journey to fly up to NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, capture it with three robotic arms, and boost its orbit high enough to escape a looming reentry. Link is about the size of a refrigerator, with two power-generating solar arrays and three xenon-fueled electric thrusters to send Swift into a safer, higher orbit.
Katalyst, the startup leading the Swift rescue effort, said Wednesday that "ongoing attitude control issues" will prevent the Link satellite from completing its rescue mission. The spacecraft is still alive, and Katalyst said it will make the most of Link's remaining capacity, which may still allow it to get near enough to Swift for a demonstration of the satellite's close-in navigation system.
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