美国国家航天局（NASA）的雨燕（Swift）重启科学观测

美国国家航天局（NASA）的雨燕（Swift）重启科学观测

NASA’s Swift Restarts Science Observations

在缩减了一项本可将Swift提升至更高轨道高度的商业任务后，美国国家航天局（NASA）的格雷尔斯雨燕天文台（Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory）已恢复了其三台科学仪器中两台的运行。该任务目前专注于演示用于在轨服务的交会对接技术。

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has resumed operating two of its three science instruments, following the scaling back of a commercial mission that would have boosted Swift to a higher orbital altitude. That mission is now focused on demonstrating rendezvous technologies for in-space servicing.

Swift团队于8月26日星期三开启了该任务的紫外/光学望远镜和X射线望远镜（X-ray telescope）。此前为了尽量减少阻力并延长卫星（satellite）在轨时间以支持轨道提升工作，这些仪器曾于2月被关闭。

The Swift team turned on the mission’s Ultraviolet/Optical and X-ray telescopes on Wednesday, Aug. 26. They were switched off in February to help minimize drag and extend the satellite’s time in orbit to support the boost effort.

第三台仪器——爆发警报望远镜（Burst Alert Telescope）的使用于4月暂停，旨在降低功耗，从而使Swift的太阳能电池板（solar panel）能够调整位置以进一步减少阻力。团队正致力于在未来几周内使其恢复数据采集。

Use of the third instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope, was halted in April to reduce power consumption so Swift’s solar panels could be positioned to further reduce drag. The team is working to return it to data collection in the next few weeks.

在过去的21年里，Swift一直是NASA研究宇宙的多功能工具。它观测多种波段的光，能迅速指向短时爆发事件，并向太空和地面的其他设施发送警报，以协助协调随动（follow-up）观测。

Over the last 21 years, Swift has been NASA’s multitool for studying the cosmos. It observes a wide range of light, rapidly points at short-lived outbursts, and sends alerts to other facilities in space and on the ground to help coordinate follow-up observations.

我们行星（planet）的大气层会对所有处于近地轨道（low earth orbit）的航天器产生阻力，如果像Swift这样没有推进系统来抵消这种影响，其轨道高度会逐渐降低。

Our planet’s atmosphere creates drag on all spacecraft in low Earth orbit, gradually reducing their altitudes if, like Swift, they don’t have propulsion systems to counteract the effect.

近期的太阳活动（solar activity）加剧了大气层对Swift的阻力，导致其下降速度比预期的更快。

Recent solar activity magnified the atmosphere’s drag on Swift, which began to sink faster than anticipated.

2025年9月，NASA与Katalyst Space公司签约，尝试提升该天文台的轨道。该公司有一年的时间来设计、制造、测试并发射其LINK航天器，随后与Swift会合、捕获并将其提升。

In September 2025, NASA contracted Katalyst Space to try to boost the observatory. The company had one year to design, build, test, and launch their LINK spacecraft and to then meet, grab, and lift Swift.

LINK于7月搭乘诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司（Northrop Grumman）的飞马座（Pegasus）火箭发射升空。当月晚些时候，LINK在姿态控制能力方面出现了问题。NASA和Katalyst于8月19日宣布，LINK将不再进行捕获和提升Swift的任务。Katalyst仍将尝试与Swift会合，并进行近距离操作，以测试和演示在轨卫星服务能力，为未来的空间探测（space exploration）奠定基础。

LINK launched in July aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket. Later that month, LINK developed issues with its ability to control its orientation. NASA and Katalyst announced Aug. 19 that LINK would not proceed with capturing and boosting Swift. Katalyst will still attempt to rendezvous with Swift and conduct proximity operations to test and demonstrate in-orbit satellite servicing capabilities for the future of space exploration.

NASA的预测显示，转向低阻力运行模式已将Swift在185英里（300公里）以上高度的运行时间延长至10月。低于此高度时，操作望远镜将变得困难，且航天器的下降速度会迅速增加。随着科学观测的恢复，团队预计Swift将在未来一到两个月内的某个时间点达到该临界点。

NASA predictions had shown the shift to low-drag operations had extended Swift’s time above 185 miles (300 kilometers) until October. Below this point, operating the telescope becomes difficult, and the spacecraft’s rate of descent quickly increases. With the resumption of science observations, the team anticipates Swift will reach that milestone sometime in the next one to two months.

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