NASA faces a critical moment for the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. This astrophysics tool has operated in low-Earth orbit for over two decades, monitoring rapid celestial events like black holes and gravitational waves. Due to solar activity and atmospheric drag, the observatory is at risk of falling out of orbit this autumn. If it drops below 185 miles, the mission ends.
NASA turned to Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to build a solution. The resulting spacecraft, LINK, launched on July 3 via a Pegasus XL rocket. The goal is a delicate rendezvous and a boost to a higher, safer orbit. The project moved from design to launch in just nine months, which is a rapid pace for space hardware.
Complications emerged shortly after launch. LINK entered a multi-axis spin late in July, triggered by partial failure in its reaction wheels and thrusters. Communications were temporarily interrupted as the satellite tumbled. Teams at Katalyst and NASA worked to stabilize the vessel, successfully reducing the spin rate through precise software updates and thruster firings.
Progress is moving forward despite the setbacks. The team reduced the spin from nine degrees per second to less than 1.5 degrees per second. Engineers now prepare to upload further flight software to restore full orientation control. While the timeline for the final boost maneuver has shifted by about a month, the objective remains the same.
Experts acknowledge that space operations of this complexity carry inherent risks. Even with recent fixes, the mission to save Swift remains difficult. If LINK succeeds, it will spend months firing ion thrusters to push the observatory back into its required position. For now, the observatory remains quiet, waiting to see if its robotic rescuer can complete the connection.