In a low-cost, high-risk gamble, a small company in partnership with NASA and Northrop Grumman launched an experimental space tug Friday to hunt down and grab a falling space telescope that otherwise would plunge back to Earth and burn up by year’s end.Using small robot arms to lock onto the $250 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the tug will attempt to boost the satellite back up to a safe altitude, giving it a new lease on life spotting the most violent explosions in the universe and continuing its role as a “first responder” for follow-on observatories.If the gamble pays off, that is.Northrop Grumman’s Katalyst Space designed, built and tested the LINK satellite in just eight months under a $30 million contract with NASA that included the cost of its air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL booster and carrier jet — a bargain-basement price for such an ambitious mission.AdvertisementAdvertisementRunning three days late because of bad weather and a software snag, the LINK and its booster were released from Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 jet at 4:36 a.m. ET, dropping like a bomb from an altitude of 40,000 feet above the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.NASA confirmed the booster’s three solid-fuel stages fired as planned to put the satellite in orbit, saying flight controllers will begin detailed checkout operations after confirming LINK’s solar arrays deployed as expected.The LINK spacecraft, its solar panels folded for launch, is seen here after attachment to its Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket. / Credit: NASAAssuming no problems, controllers will spend several weeks checking out the spacecraft’s systems before kicking off the actual rendezvous with Swift. If all goes well, the LINK spacecraft will use three robotic arms to lock onto a flange that was used before launch to secure LINK for ground transport.Low-power, but efficient, ion thrusters then will start firing to begin boosting the telescope up to an altitude of around 370 miles, extending its mission anot …
