{"id":189507,"date":"2026-07-03T15:58:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=189507"},"modified":"2026-07-03T15:58:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:28:44","slug":"nasa-launches-robotic-mission-to-save-telescope-falling-back-to-earth-space-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=189507","title":{"rendered":"NASA launches robotic mission to save telescope falling back to Earth | Space News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A three-armed spacecraft rockets into orbit to rescue a NASA telescope that\u2019s in danger of crashing back to Earth.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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By <\/span>AFP and The Associated Press<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published On 3 Jul 2026<\/span>3 Jul 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA has launched a robotic mission to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere in a complicated operation expected to last several months.<\/p>\n

Northrop Grumman launched the Link spacecraft \u2013 built by United States-based Katalyst Space Technologies \u2013 from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

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A Pegasus rocket blasted off from the belly of a modified aircraft putting Link on course to reach and capture NASA\u2019s Swift Observatory in about a month.<\/p>\n

Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot\u2019s launch was postponed due to weather, then technical issues. Blast-off happened on Friday at 0836 GMT from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

The unprecedented $30m effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is falling towards Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2004, Swift is sinking faster than ever because of recent solar storms. The $250m telescope studies gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe.<\/p>\n

Once it reaches an orbit close to Swift\u2019s, the robot will deploy its solar panels and perform a series of checks.<\/p>\n

It will then have to locate the Swift telescope in the vastness of space, circle around it and dock using three robotic arms \u2013 manoeuvres expected to take several weeks.<\/p>\n

Finally, it will attempt to propel the satellite approximately 300km (186 miles) higher above the Earth, roughly to its initial orbital position. That operation is expected to last at least a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other,\u201d Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA\u2019s astrophysics division, told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cI\u2019m just deeply thankful that we\u2019re even giving this a go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A three-armed spacecraft rockets into orbit to rescue a NASA telescope that\u2019s in danger of crashing back to Earth. By AFP and The Associated Press Published On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026 NASA has launched a robotic mission to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere in a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-04-03T212905Z_957876817_RC2XHKAY9RZU_RTRMADP_3_SPACE-MOON-ARTEMIS-1775395452.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":189491,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=189491","url_meta":{"origin":189507,"position":0},"title":"NASA launches robotic mission to save space telescope","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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. 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