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NASA to Launch Robot on June 30 to Rescue Swift Space Telescope

Extending Swift’s orbit would preserve its rapid-response science and prove that fast, low-cost commercial robots can service aging satellites.

NASA via YouTube
Image
A digital illustration of NASA's Swift observatory.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory telescope was launched in 2004, and was originally designed for a two-year mission

Overview

  • LINK, a roughly five-foot robotic servicer built by Katalyst Space Technologies, is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, June 30, by an air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL from Kwajalein Atoll.
  • After orbital checkout, LINK will spend weeks to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, photograph the satellite to pick a grab point, then use three robotic arms to grapple it.
  • Once captured, LINK will use gentle ion-thrusting over several months to raise Swift from about 360 km to roughly 600 km and then release it to resume science operations.
  • The capture phase is the mission’s greatest risk because Swift was not designed for servicing and its two-decade-old external insulation and surfaces have not been inspected up close.
  • NASA awarded Katalyst the roughly $30 million rapid-response contract in September 2025, and the mission is both an effort to save Swift’s unique transient-observing capability and a proof of concept for future commercial servicing of satellites such as Hubble.