Particle.news
Download on the App Store
17 ARTICLES
·
21h ago

NASA and Katalyst Call Off Attempt to Reboost Swift Observatory

Persistent attitude-control failures on the commercial LINK servicer have made a safe capture impossible, leaving Swift likely to reenter this year while LINK will conduct proximity tests to gather engineering data.

A spacecraft built by space startup Katalyst Space that will tow NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory into a higher orbit awaits encapsulation aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, U.S. June 8, 2026. REUTERS/NASA/Ron Beard
Image
NASA launched the Swift space telescope to study gamma-ray bursts in 2004
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, shown in this artist’s concept, has orbited Earth for more than 20 years, studying the ever-changing universe.

Overview

  • NASA and Katalyst announced Wednesday that LINK will not capture or boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory because ongoing attitude-control problems make a safe grapple impossible.
  • The LINK spacecraft entered a multi-axis spin after launch, lost two reaction wheels, and suffered partial thruster degradation, and controllers only partially recovered pointing with electric-thruster burns and software updates.
  • Without the planned reboost, NASA expects the 2004-launched Swift to reenter Earth’s atmosphere later this year after the agency shut down its science instruments earlier in 2026 to slow orbital decay.
  • Katalyst will instead attempt rendezvous and proximity operations near Swift to collect operational data and codify lessons that could guide future on-orbit servicing and rapid-response contingency plans.
  • The mission was an accelerated $30 million commercial contract intended to test emergency rescue techniques and its failure raises questions about the feasibility of similar quick rescues for aging assets such as Hubble and about standards for future servicing work.