Swift

[Orionid]

Stargazer L-1011 wylądował z podczepioną rakietą Pegasus XL w Mojave Air and Space Port.

maurer8photography @maurer8photo 5:28 AM · Jun 19, 2026 from Mojave, CA·
Once-in-a-lifetime event at the Mojave Air and Space Port as the Northrop Grumman Stargazer L-1011 touched down with a Pegasus XL rocket mated underneath. This historic air-launch system is prepped for its next mission!  LINK will rendezvous with NASA’s Swift Observatory and raise its orbit by ~300 km to prevent reentry and extend its scientific life for more observations.

https://twitter.com/maurer8photo/status/2067811794224333097

[Orionid]

Szybki czas przygotowania misji.
Od jej powodzenia zależeć mogą losy innego 36-letniego teleskopu, którego misję chciał przedłużyć Jared Isaacman, który został później administratorem NASA.

1st-of-its-kind mission will attempt to save aging space telescope using robot spacecraft
ByMatthew Glasser and Briana Alvarado June 23, 2026, 6:28 PM

NASA's Swift telescope could be destroyed in months if nothing is done.

(...) To save the satellite before time runs out, the Arizona-based company built its 935-pound rescue spacecraft in just 250 days. LINK was designed to physically interact with Swift despite the observatory not being designed for this kind of operation.

Once in orbit, it will take about three weeks for LINK to rendezvous with and capture the 22-year-old observatory. Over two to three months, the spacecraft will use its thrusters to raise Swift into a more stable orbit. The two will then separate as LINK lowers itself back into Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn up, keeping it from adding to the rest of the space debris in our orbit. (...)

https://abcnews.com/International/1st-kind-mission-attempt-save-aging-space-telescope/story?id=134130965