Overview
- LINK went into a multi‑axis spin after two of its three reaction wheels failed and some fine‑control thruster functionality degraded, a problem first detected over the weekend.
- Katalyst and NASA have begun a series of gimbaled electric‑propulsion burns that are reducing body rates while teams keep the spacecraft power‑positive and maintain intermittent communications.
- The recovery effort is time‑sensitive because the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is in a decaying low Earth orbit near 350 kilometers and could cross a critical 300‑km threshold by October if not boosted.
- NASA awarded Katalyst an expedited roughly $30 million contract to build and fly LINK in about nine months, and the servicer launched on a Pegasus rocket on July 3 as a commercial demonstration of on‑orbit servicing.
- If LINK can be stabilized, engineers will update its guidance, navigation and control and then jointly assess whether a safe approach and robotic capture of Swift is feasible; success would extend Swift’s science work and validate low‑cost servicing while failure would expose limits of rapid, commercial rescue attempts.