Here's why NASA has a bold plan to save Swift Observatory from destruction

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Inside NASA’s daring race to save a doomed space telescope<br>A rescue mission could launch before June is out giving the falling Swift Observatory a second life. Can NASA pull it off?<br>Eric LagattaUSA TODAY

June 28, 2026Updated July 2, 2026, 3:01 p.m. ET<br>Hear this story

NASA's Swift Observatory is at risk of falling out of orbit and burning up in the atmosphere.<br>A rescue mission is planned to launch a commercial robotic spacecraft to boost the telescope's orbit.<br>The mission is a first-of-its-kind attempt to service a satellite not designed for in-space capture.<br>If successful, the mission will extend the life of the observatory for several more years.<br>Update: NASA has postponed the launch due to an issue with the launch vehicle. The next earliest launch opportunity will be determined after teams analyze data from the scrubbed attempt, according to NASA.<br>A high-stakes mission is on the cusp of launching an uncrewed spacecraft on a bold journey to save a NASA telescope from certain doom as it plummets back to Earth.<br>NASA's Swift Observatory is at risk of falling to its fiery death in the atmosphere after more than two decades of observing the cosmos from Earth orbit.<br>But that won't happen if NASA has anything to say about it.

In less than a year, the U.S. space agency and commercial aerospace partners have raced against the clock to mount a daring rescue mission that could finally commence in June. If successful, the venture NASA understatedly refers to as the "Swift boost mission" would not only extend the life of the observatory, but be the first of its kind.<br>USA TODAY Shopping: Shop sales in tech, home, fashion, beauty & more curated by our editors."Swift has been a key player in NASA’s efforts to understand how the universe works, and we’re looking forward to getting back to that work after the boost is complete,” S. Bradley Cenko, Swift principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement.

Here's everything to know about the mission to save the Swift Observatory, including how it could make spaceflight history.<br>What is the Swift Observatory?

Launched in 2004, NASA's Swift Observatory has spent more than two decades orbiting Earth while studying a variety of cosmic phenomena. The satellite's primary objective, though, is to observe gamma-ray bursts – events triggered by the catastrophic deaths of massive stars and considered to be the most powerful types of explosions in the universe.<br>The satellite is equipped with three multiwavelength telescopes that are able to collect data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma-ray light.<br>Why is the Swift Observatory falling?

The Swift Observatory is in a region of space known as low-Earth orbit nearer to the atmosphere, which is also where the International Space Station resides.<br>All spacecraft in that region can expect to fall to lower altitudes if they don't have propulsion systems to counteract atmospheric drag and maintain their orbits. But the Swift Observatory has fallen faster than NASA has anticipated because of increased solar storms since fall 2024.

Why does NASA want to rescue the space telescope?<br>NASA could allow the Swift Observatory to fall back to Earth, where it would harmlessly burn up as it careened into the atmosphere.<br>Instead, the space agency is planning a mission to rescue the telescope and extend its mission for several more years – negating the need to spend more money to replace the observatory, NASA said in a press release.<br>Download USA TODAY's app to get to the heart of news Rubin Observatory launches ambitious quest to reveal universe's secrets Astronauts catch glimpse of fireworks as space station orbits over US This 4th of July, the Milky Way could put on a light show of its own SpaceX's 'Starmind' AI constellation continues cosmic naming tradition Here's how AI could help astronomers unlock new secrets about meteors What happens if we discover extraterrestrials? Scientists have a plan

Why is the mission a big deal?<br>A successful mission would mark the first time that a commercial robotic spacecraft captures a government satellite that – unlike other spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope – was never meant to be serviced in space. The unprecedented venture, NASA leaders say, would also test a new capability that could be used on other future missions.<br>What is the spacecraft tasked with the rescue mission?

The spacecraft that will attempt to rescue the Swift Observatory was developed by Katalyst Space, an aerospace company based in Flagstaff, Arizona, which was awarded the $30 million contract in September 2025.<br>Because Swift has no docking ports or grappling fixtures to grab onto, Katalyst built its 880-pound, 5-foot tall LINK spacecraft with a custom robotic capture mechanism that will attach to a feature on the satellite’s main structure. The process is meant to mitigate the chance of any...