Nasa launches mission to save falling space telescope

A Nasa-funded robot has blasted off to catch a falling telescope in mid-orbit and blast it back to safety before it burns up.

A Mission to Save NASA’s Swift Telescope Launches to Orbit

A refrigerator-size spacecraft will try to grab onto Swift and nudge it to a higher orbit, enabling it to continue observing powerful cosmic explosions.

By Kenneth Chang

NASA launches robotic mission to save telescope falling back to Earth

A three-armed spacecraft blasts into orbit to rescue a NASA telescope in danger of crashing back to Earth.

NASA launches spacecraft to recover sinking telescope

The Swift telescope has been affected by recent solar storms and is sinking faster than ever, heading toward Earth. A NASA mission will try to capture it and boost its orbit.

Nasa launches robotic mission to save space telescope

Nasa launched a robotic mission on Friday to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere, a complicated operation expected to last several months. The unprecedented US$30 million effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is currently falling towards Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life. Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot’s launch was postponed due to weather and t...

By Agence France-Presse

Daring rescue mission launches to save a 3,200-pound NASA observatory from an untimely end

NASA launches 'space robot' to rescue Swift telescope; tech could reshape satellite servicing

The spacecraft will gradually catch up with the Swift telescope before using its robotic arms to latch onto the observatory and gently raise it into a higher orbit, potentially extending its operational life by years.