NASA is preparing to launch a mission to save the ageing Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from falling back to Earth after recent intense solar activity caused its orbit to decay more rapidly.

The US$30 million mission, which could get underway as early as this week, will be carried out in partnership with Katalyst Space Technologies. A robotic spacecraft equipped with three arms will rendezvous with the observatory and boost it into a higher, more stable orbit, enabling it to continue observing some of the universe’s biggest explosions.

The spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an air-launched Pegasus XL rocket from the Marshall Islands as early as this week. Swift, which has been operating since 2004, requires a higher orbit as soon as possible to avoid re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.