NASA launches robotic mission to save telescope falling back to Earth

NASA has launched a robotic mission to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere in a complicated operation expected to last several months. Northrop Grumman launched the Link spacecraft - built by United States-based Katalyst Space Technologies - from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean on Friday. Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot's launch was postponed due to weather, then technical issues. Blast-off happened on Friday at 0836 GMT from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The unprecedented $30m effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is falling towards Earth.