NASA aborts Swift telescope rescue mission, expects spacecraft to burn up in atmosphere

NASA has canceled its effort to rescue the Swift space telescope, confirming that the spacecraft will burn up while re-entering Earth's atmosphere by the end of the year. The agency said it was abandoning the rescue after the $30 million recovery vehicle, named Linc, malfunctioned in orbit. Linc was launched in early July but began tumbling uncontrollably within weeks. Flight controllers slowed the rotation, but the agency said the underlying issues persisted and prevented the vehicle from carrying out the maneuvers needed to stabilize Swift's altitude. NASA Director Jared Isaacman said the outcome was not what the team had worked toward, but added that the failure did not change the purpose of attempting the mission. The exact timing and location of the telescope's re-entry have not yet been determined. Swift was launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic events as a two-year mission. It operated for 21 years before increasing solar activity caused its low Earth orbit to decay rapidly.