NASA Swift telescope rescue: a daring orbital first

NASA is paying Katalyst Space Technologies $30 million to rescue the Swift space telescope, which has been studying gamma-ray bursts since 2004 but is now falling out of orbit due to increased atmospheric drag from solar activity. A small autonomous spacecraft called Link will launch on a Pegasus rocket, grab the unmodified satellite using robotic arms, and boost it from 360km to 600km — a feat never attempted before by the US.