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9h ago

NASA Calls Off Rescue of Swift Observatory After Service Craft Loses Control

LINK’s persistent attitude-control failures mean NASA will likely lose the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory this year and will use the stranded spacecraft to test proximity operations for future servicing.

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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
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Overview

  • NASA and contractor Katalyst announced on Wednesday, Aug. 19 that LINK will not attempt to capture or boost the 2004 Swift Observatory because ongoing attitude-control problems made a safe capture impossible.
  • Engineers traced the failure to LINK’s attitude systems, including two failed reaction wheels and partial cold-gas thruster loss that caused the probe to tumble and produce sporadic communications after its July 3 launch.
  • With the boost canceled, NASA estimates Swift will reenter Earth’s atmosphere later this year after its science instruments were powered down earlier in 2026 to slow orbital decay.
  • Katalyst will keep LINK in orbit to perform rendezvous and proximity demonstrations to collect engineering data and test techniques that could guide future commercial satellite servicing.
  • The $30 million, nine-month rescue effort highlights trade-offs between speed and testing and leaves questions about potential boosts for other aging satellites such as Hubble while informing policy and technical approaches to in‑space servicing.