Share to ClassroomNASA Sends Robot to Save Telescope
NASA (the US space team) has begun a big mission in space. It wants to save an old telescope called Swift. Swift is slowly falling back to Earth. NASA hired a company, Katalyst, to help. The company built a robot spacecraft called Link. Link will push Swift into a higher, safer place.
Swift went into space in 2004. Now it falls faster because of activity from the Sun. The Sun heats the air high above Earth. This pulls space telescopes down. NASA turned Swift off in February to slow the fall.
Link will need about three months to do the work. NASA says the mission is worth the money. It can not pay for a new telescope. Swift can look quickly at exploding stars. Its next robot may help the bigger Hubble telescope.
