- Nasa has abandoned efforts to save the Swift Observatory space telescope, which will now burn up in Earth's atmosphere no earlier than October.
- The telescope had been sinking from its orbit faster than expected due to intense solar activity after more than 20 years of cosmic observations.
- A $30 million rescue mission by startup Katalyst Space Technologies failed after its Link spacecraft suffered persistent control and positioning problems.
- Katalyst will keep operating Link near Swift to demonstrate capabilities for potential future rescue missions.
- The setback leaves the future of the Hubble Space Telescope uncertain, as it is also losing altitude and was next in line for a rescue attempt.
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