NASA sends robot into orbit to stop telescope crashing to Earth

Swift has been circling Earth for 21 years. Without a rescue mission assembled in just nine months, it would burn up by October.

venerdì 3 luglio 2026 New tab

335 words~2 min read

Published on

03/07/2026 - 16:52 GMT+2

A rescue spacecraft has blasted into orbit on a mission to save a NASA telescope from crashing back to Earth.

The three-armed robot, named Link, launched from the Marshall Islands on Friday and will take about a month to reach its target: the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a telescope that has been circling Earth since 2004.

Swift has been losing altitude faster than expected. Recent solar activity has heated and expanded Earth's outer atmosphere, creating extra drag that is pulling the telescope steadily earthward — and NASA is running out of time to save it.

NASA sends robot into orbit to stop telescope crashing to Earth

NASA sends robot into orbit to stop telescope crashing to Earth

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