NASA to launch rescue mission June 30 to save Swift space telescope from burning up in Earth's atmosphere

An air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled to fly for the very last time early Tuesday morning (June 30), sending a private spacecraft on a rescue mission to save one of NASA's most iconic space telescopes from falling back to Earth. The Swift Boost mission will send the LINK satellite, built by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies, to grapple NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and tow it to a stable orbit, saving it from impending destruction as its trajectory dips farther into the atmosphere . LINK, aboard Pegasus, will take off from Bucholz Army Airfield at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, secured to Northrop Grumman's L-1011 Stargazer jet. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:23 a.m. EDT (1023 GMT), Tuesday. Pegasus will be released by Stargazer once the aircraft reaches about 39,000 feet (12,000 meters), traveling at Mach 0.82. Five seconds later, the rocket will ignite its engine and ascend to orbit. Pegasus is a three-stage, solid rocket-propelled launch vehicle that measures 55 feet in length (16.9 meters), capable of delivering up to 1,000 pounds (454 kg) into low-earth orbit (LEO). Following its separation from the Stargazer, the rocket's stages are ignited in sequence to reach its intended altitude in about 10 minutes. Pegasus debuted in 1990, and has since flown 45 missions. …