A mission to raise the altitude of NASAтАЩs Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is underway after launching at 8:36 p.m.┬аMarshall Islands Time (4:36 a.m.┬аEDT), Friday, July 3, from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean.
LINK, a robotic servicing spacecraft built by Katalyst Space, launched into orbit on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was deployed by the companyтАЩs Stargazer, a modified L-1011 aircraft, at an altitude of about 40,000 feet.
Our planetтАЩs atmosphere creates drag for spacecraft in low Earth orbit, gradually reducing their altitude if they donтАЩt have propulsion systems to maintain their positions. Recent solar activity magnified this effect on Swift, and its orbit decayed faster than anticipated.
In September, NASA contracted Katalyst to boost Swift. The company needed to design, build, test, and launch LINK and meet, grab, and lift Swift in less than a year.
Now that LINK has reached orbit, the Katalyst teamтАЩs first step is to acquire a signal from the spacecraft, confirming its solar panels have deployed and the power systems are working. NASA will continue to provide updates on the agencyтАЩs Swift blog.
Learn more about the Swift mission at:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/
By Jeanette Kazmierczak
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
