Time is running out for a space telescope falling out of Earth orbit, and an Arizona company is rising to the rescue.
Katalyst Space, based in Flagstaff plans fly the first-ever robotic space rescue mission this summer.
Ghonhee Lee is the company's founder and CEO. He says the company is working with NASA to dock with the SWIFT space telescope and try to boost it into a higher orbit.
“It doesn’t have any interfaces or grapple fixtures or USB port you can plug into, it was never envisioned we would service this satellite," said Lee. "So, we have to bring all of that equipment ourselves.”
Space scientists have used the SWIFT space telescope for 22 years. But now its orbit is decaying, and the telescope is in danger of burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere before the end of the year.
Lee says if everything goes as planned, the Katalyst LINK satellite will use three robotic arms to grab the space telescope, and use its own propulsion system to move it out of danger. NASA says that’s never been tried before with remote-controlled spacecraft.
“This is one of the most technically complex missions you can do in space right now," explained Lee. "To autonomously dock to a satellite that was never designed for servicing.”
The LINK rescue ship is about the size of a mini-fridge. It will be launched from a Northrop Grumman L-1011 jet aircraft for its rendezvous with SWIFT, and once the two spacecraft connect, LINK will boost SWIFT into a new orbit using noble gas thrusters.
The telescope is named after University of Arizona graduate Neil Geherls, who went on to have a distinguished career as an astrophysicist. Geherls died in 2017.
The Katalyst mission is scheduled to begin June 28.
