NASA is launching a $30M robotic mission built by Katalyst Space Technologies to rescue the aging Swift Observatory by raising its orbit from 224 miles to 373 miles.The three-armed Lift spacecraft will launch on a Pegasus rocket from the Marshall Islands, rendezvous with the 1.6-ton telescope, capture it with robotic grippers and complete the boost over several months; NASA paused Swift's instruments in February to slow its descent.Officials including
Shawn Domagal-Goldman and
Nicky Fox say the effort is the first American autonomous satellite-servicing mission, a test for future boosts such as a possible operation to the
Hubble Space Telescope and a policy response to constrained replacement budgets.