Overview
- LINK, built by Katalyst Space Technologies, reached orbit after a Pegasus XL air launch on July 3 and is now in a weeks‑long commissioning phase before beginning its approach to Swift.
- Mission teams plan about one month for LINK to close with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, then survey the telescope for safe grapple points and, if feasible, use three robotic arms to capture it.
- After capture, LINK will use low‑thrust ion engines to raise Swift slowly over roughly two to three months and then detach, with engineers aiming for Swift to resume fuller science operations by the fall if the boost succeeds.
- Swift is operating in a low‑power, low‑drag posture because recent solar activity has increased atmospheric drag and, without intervention, NASA projects likely uncontrolled reentry this fall.
- NASA awarded Katalyst an expedited contract worth roughly $30 million to build LINK in nine months; success would validate lower‑cost commercial servicing and offer a model for future rescues or debris mitigation.