NASA Launches Rescue Mission to Save the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Observatory

NASA is preparing an unprecedented mission to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a key gamma-ray burst monitor launched in 2004 but now rapidly losing altitude. Partnering with Katalyst Space Technologies, NASA will send a robotic servicer on a Pegasus XL rocket to rendezvous with Swift, inspect it, and raise it to a stable orbit. The effort preserves vital GRB …