NASA mission saving Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory back on track
Technology
NASA's mission to save the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is back on track after a pretty tense moment in space.
The rescue spacecraft, LINK, started spinning out of control last month when two of its three reaction wheels failed, putting the whole operation at risk.
Katalyst fix enables swift orbital boost
Engineers from Katalyst Space Technologies jumped in and uploaded a clever software fix, using LINK's remaining systems to steady things up.
Now, NASA says it is ready to start moving LINK into position to boost Swift into a safer, higher orbit, helping this 21-year-old satellite keep hunting gamma-ray bursts instead of falling back to Earth.