NASA calls off mission to save Swift telescope, which will plunge into Earth's atmosphere and burn

NASA is calling off a mission to save the Swift telescope, which is set to plunge into Earth's atmosphere and burn up later this year. CBS News' space consultant Bill Harwood chimes in.

NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies, an aerospace start-up, announced a joint venture to launch a spacecraft to nudge the ailing observatory back into orbit on July 3.

NASA has spent $30 million US in an attempt to raise the sinking Swift Observatory, which has been operating for 20 years, but on Wednesday called off the rescue mission.

NASA and Katalyst Space have announced that the plan to boost the altitude of a Swift Observatory space telescope with the LINK spacecraft has failed.

Plans to rescue NASA's Swift Observatory satellite from falling into Earth's atmosphere are seemingly dead in the water. The agency and Katalyst Space announced yesterday that the Link spacecraft will no longer capture or boost the Swift telescope to a higher altitude due to an ongoing "attitude control issue," but wil

The Swift observatory is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this year, because NASA has aborted its rescue mission.

The Swift observatory will now re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in a few months, after a mission to boost it higher failed

Without a rescue, NASA's Swift Observatory is expected to reenter the atmosphere later this year.

A spacecraft built by Katalyst Space launched in July with the goal of boosting the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, but it suffered control issues after launch

The Swift space telescope, which studies the most powerful explosions in the universe, was unable to be saved and will now likely plunge back to earth and disintegrate along the way later this year.

The Swift space telescope, which studies the most powerful explosions in the universe, was unable to be saved and will now likely plunge back to earth and disintegrate along the way later this year.

A mission to ⁠rescue Nasa’s ageing Swift observatory in space was cancelled on Wednesday after the spacecraft that was launched to tug the satellite to a higher orbit suffered irredeemable technical issues in space, the rescue craft’s owner, Katalyst Space, said. Katalyst’s ‌Link craft was launched in early July to app

The space agency’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which studied cataclysmic cosmic explosions, is expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere later this year

NASA had hoped to prevent its Swift observatory from breaking apart in Earth’s atmosphere. But the spacecraft tasked with the rescue hit problems.

NASA ends boosting mission to save the Swift space telescope after experiencing technical issues with Katalyst's rescue spacecraft.

The mission to save NASA’s sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year.

A NASA mission to save the Swift space telescope from burning up has failed. Learn why the satellite rescue mission could not be controlled.

NASA announced Wednesday that it was calling off a multimillion-dollar mission to rescue its aging Swift telescope before it reenters Earth’s atmosphere, citing difficulties controlling the spacecraft’s altitude. NASA, in partnership with Katalyst Space Technologies, launched the LINK spacecraft last month in a risky e

NASA called off the mission to save its dying space telescope on Wednesday, dooming it to a fiery reentry into Earth.

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 - A mission to rescue NASA's aging Swift observatory in space was canceled on Wednesday after the spacecraft that was launched to tug the satellite to a higher orbit suffered irredeemable technical issues in space, the rescue craft's owner, Katalyst Space, said.

NASA’s Swift Observatory, which studies some of the most powerful explosions in the universe, is expected to burn up in the atmosphere.

A rendering of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Image: NASA NASA is calling off a mission to save a space observatory falling out of orbit, dooming it to a fiery death in Earth's atmosphere." Why it matters: The Swift Boost Mission was an ambitious attempt to rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and demonstrate

The mission to save NASA’s sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year.

Rescue mission is called off for NASA's aging Swift space telescope

The mission to save NASA's sinking space telescope has been called off

The mission to save NASA's sinking space telescope has been called off

Rescue mission is called off for NASA’s aging Swift space telescope  AP News

A spacecraft built by space startup Katalyst Space that will tow NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory into a higher orbit awaits encapsulation aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, U.S. June 8, 2026. REUTERS/NASA/Ron Beard 20 Aug 2026 02:33AM WASHINGTON, Aug 19 : A mission