Katalyst Space and NASA have canceled plans to use the Link spacecraft to capture the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and raise its orbit after determining that Link’s attitude-control problems prevented the operation from being carried out safely. Katalyst said in an announcement issued on August 20 that the decision was made in consultation with NASA, noting that directional-control problems were continuing without providing additional details.
A Problem with the Control System
Link was launched on July 3 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket on a mission originally designed to reach Swift and raise its orbit. After launch, the company reported that the spacecraft was in good condition, but on July 28 it announced that Link had entered a multiaxis spin because of control-system failures, including the loss of two of its three reaction wheels. The spacecraft’s reaction-control system thrusters were also operating only partially.
Control teams managed to reduce the spin rate in early August from 9 degrees per second to 1.47 degrees per second using the electric thrusters that had been intended to change the spacecraft’s orbit. The company then installed new flight software and said on August 11 that the updated configuration might support rendezvous operations, paving the way for an attempt to capture Swift and raise its orbit. Link was expected to reach the observatory in late August.
What Happens Now?
Instead of carrying out the orbit-raising operation, Link will conduct rendezvous operations and maneuvers near Swift. Katalyst and NASA did not explain the specific reason for ruling out an attempt to capture the observatory, but the decision reflects the spacecraft’s limited ability to perform a maneuver requiring stable pointing and a precise approach to another spacecraft.
Ghonhee Lee, chief executive officer of Katalyst Space Technologies, said the company would use the remaining operations to gather lessons that could be incorporated into future satellite-servicing missions. On August 13, Katalyst had been selected, along with two other companies, for study contracts from the Space Development Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit to provide satellite deorbiting services.
Why Does This News Matter?
The Swift mission was a high-risk test of technologies for rendezvousing with and servicing spacecraft already in orbit, and it was conducted within a short timeframe imposed by the observatory’s deteriorating orbit. NASA assessments found that increasing atmospheric drag, linked to heightened solar activity, was accelerating Swift’s descent and could cause it to reenter the atmosphere in late 2026.
In September, NASA awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract to carry out the orbit-raising operation, after Link had originally been developed to demonstrate satellite-servicing technologies in low Earth orbit. NASA confirmed that the mission carried significant risks, but it could provide experience extending beyond saving Swift, regardless of whether the orbit-raising operation succeeded.
The End of Swift’s Scientific Mission
The cancellation of the orbit-raising operation effectively means that Swift’s mission is nearing its end. The observatory was launched in 2004 to observe gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy astronomical phenomena. The observatory is currently orbiting at an altitude ranging from 343 to 347 kilometers, and NASA expects it to reenter the atmosphere later this year.
The agency had halted most of the observatory’s scientific operations earlier in 2026 as part of measures to modify its operating mode, reduce atmospheric drag, and give the orbit-raising mission an additional opportunity. NASA did not explain whether it would reactivate Swift’s instruments during the final months of its lifetime, confirming that it would rely on current missions to observe cosmic events until new rapid-response options are found.