Overview
- As of June 29, Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft is integrated for an imminent Pegasus-style air-launch from the Marshall Islands to carry out the rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
- LINK will spend weeks commissioning and rendezvousing with Swift before attempting an autonomous capture using three robotic arms and finger-like grippers on a satellite that was not designed for servicing.
- After capture, LINK will use electric (ion) propulsion to raise Swift from roughly 360 kilometers to about 600 kilometers over several months, at which point the servicer will release the observatory for resumed science operations.
- The capture is the mission’s highest technical risk because Swift’s external thermal blankets and any loose debris are unknown after 20 years on orbit, and there is a narrow window before the telescope drops below a critical altitude where rescue would be infeasible.
- NASA awarded Katalyst about $30 million for the accelerated, nine-month effort and success would preserve Swift’s rapid follow-up capabilities for new transient surveys and validate a lower-cost commercial approach to extending other aging satellites, including potential future missions for Hubble.