NASA Sends Robot to Fix Aging Space Telescope Before It Falls

NASA is launching a robotic repair mission in June 2026 to save the Swift space telescope, which has been orbiting for 22 years and is slowly falling toward Earth due to atmospheric drag. A robot will push it back to a safe, higher orbit, keeping its key telescope functioning. This marks one of the first times NASA has tested robotic repair on an unmodified telescope in space, a new approach to extending the life of aging missions.