NASA launches robotic mission to save space telescope

NASA launched a robotic mission on Friday to try to prevent one of its aging telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere, a complicated operation expected to last several months.

The unprecedented $30 million effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that’s 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 then technical issues. It finally took place on Friday at 0836 GMT from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

Developed by American startup Katalyst, the spacecraft was launched by a small rocket named Pegasus, itself launched from an airplane.

Once it reaches an orbit close to that of Swift, the robot will deploy its solar panels and perform a series of checks.

It will then have to locate the Swift telescope in the vastness of space, circle around it and dock with it using three robotic arms — maneuvers expected to take several weeks.

Finally, it will attempt to propel the satellite approximately 300 kilometers higher above the Earth, roughly to its initial orbital position. That operation is expected to last at least a month.

The Swift telescope cost $250 million and is used to study gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe.

“This is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, told reporters Tuesday.

“I’m just deeply thankful that we’re even giving this a go.”