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Ars TechnicaStephen Clark

Engineers plan a satellite-capture attempt to save NASA’s Swift mission

Engineers are preparing a capture—or attempted capture—of NASA’s Swift satellite in an effort to preserve the mission. The operation would rely on another spacecraft sent specifically to assist Swift, underscoring the technical complexity of extending the life of an established space observatory.

2026-08-01T11:50:07.523880-07:00

NASA

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NASA disputes estimate that repurposing Mars rover for lunar mission could cost more than $1 billion

NASA is evaluating whether an engineering model of a Mars rover can be converted into a lunar rover, but a reported cost estimate above $1 billion has drawn a rejection from the agency’s leader. The dispute highlights the financial stakes of reusing existing spacecraft hardware for new planetary missions.

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Flying Magazine

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Columbia’s Warning: The Organizational Failures That Still Threaten Flight Safety

An examination of the Columbia space shuttle disaster argues that the failures behind the tragedy were not unique to a single mission. The same weaknesses can persist across aerospace operations, from maintenance hangars to flight decks, making organizational discipline and safety oversight as critical as technical performance.

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Wisk and NASA Simulate Multi-Aircraft Autonomous Operations in Controlled Airspace

Wisk Aero and NASA completed a simulation of multi-aircraft autonomous flight operations in controlled airspace, testing how autonomous aircraft could operate together within existing airspace-management environments. The exercise advances Wisk’s development of autonomous aviation systems and provides NASA with additional data on future airspace integration.

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