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<\/p>\nA mission to stop a space observatory from falling to Earth has failed \u2014 Here\u2019s what happens next<\/p>\n
Swift\u2019s science mission will come to an end later this year<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A satellite called LINK that recently launched to boost the orbit of a falling space observatory won\u2019t be able to carry out its daring rescue mission after all.<\/p>\n
Related video above: New images of the sun show its surface in the finest detail yet<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s decades-old Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is steadily losing altitude and in danger of reentering Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Designed by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to save the observatory, the LINK satellite began to encounter difficulties in late July. Just weeks after LINK lifted off on July 3, it started to spin out of control.<\/p>\n
Katalyst was able to regain control of the satellite, but the company acknowledged that the issue cost it time, which would delay LINK\u2019s rendezvous with Swift by about a month. However, that postponement \u2014 at least initially \u2014 did not seem to be a deterrent to the mission.<\/p>\n
Now, NASA<\/a> and Katalyst<\/a> have announced that LINK\u2019s mission will not capture and boost Swift to a higher orbit “due to ongoing attitude control issues,” according to statements Wednesday.<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s science mission will come to an end as the observatory likely burns up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere later this year, according to NASA.<\/p>\n An illustration of NASA\u2019s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is losing altitude and in danger of reentering Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n “NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.<\/p>\n “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting. The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future.”<\/p>\n But LINK\u2019s journey isn\u2019t over yet, and the lessons learned could be instrumental for future in-space servicing operations.<\/p>\n Demonstrating future capabilities<\/p>\n The mission team is forging ahead with its plan for LINK to rendezvous with Swift \u2014 but as a demonstration rather than a rescue.<\/p>\n “We are going to learn everything we can from LINK\u2019s rendezvous attempt and put those lessons to work on the missions that follow,” Isaacman said.<\/p>\n Originally, LINK was expected to conduct a survey of Swift to determine the best grappling points on the observatory, a step that will likely be part of the satellite\u2019s anticipated rendezvous, though it\u2019s currently unclear when this test will take place.<\/p>\n Swift wasn\u2019t designed to be serviced in space, which means that insights from the demonstration could be used for future missions.<\/p>\n Stargazer, Pegasus XL, and LINK await takeoff on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at NASA Wallops.<\/p>\n The logos on the Pegasus XL are more visible in this photo taken from underneath Stargazer\u2019s wing on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.<\/p>\n “Katalyst designed, developed, and launched an experimental spacecraft to go after an ambitious mission on an aggressive timeline,” said Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space Technologies, in a statement. “We took on this high-risk, high-reward challenge and are proud of the milestones we reached along the way. We have already learned a tremendous amount, and now our job is to turn those lessons into something durable \u2014 building a repeatable playbook to inform future rendezvous and proximity operations and satellite servicing.”<\/p>\n Filling the gap<\/p>\n The Swift Observatory, which has no established observational replacement waiting in the wings, has served as an astrophysics multitool in low-Earth orbit since it launched nearly 22 years ago, quickly pivoting to observe celestial objects and cosmic events.<\/p>\n But atmospheric drag, intensified by solar activity, exerted its forces on the observatory, leading NASA to predict that Swift would reenter Earth\u2019s atmosphere once it dips below an optimal altitude of about 185 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth.<\/p>\n Katalyst designed, built, tested and launched LINK in nine months. The robotic satellite lifted off on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was released midair by the company\u2019s modified L-1011 aircraft, Stargazer.<\/p>\n Before the satellite\u2019s launch, members of the Swift and LINK teams both acknowledged that the path to boosting the observatory was full of risks that could cause the mission to fail.<\/p>\n The hands of Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mark McManus, a Pegasus XL operations manager, work on the rocket as seen through an open panel on the fairing on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.<\/p>\n “We were all hoping for more science from Swift,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. “But we knew the takeaways from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained so much through the series of accomplishments up to this point.”<\/p>\n The agency will rely on the rest of its fleet of active observatories to fill Swift\u2019s gap and “will continue to prioritize finding new options to react rapidly to cosmic events,” according to NASA.<\/p>\n “Building, testing, and operating this mission has already strengthened America\u2019s space industry pipeline, advancing in-space servicing capabilities in completely new ways,” Domagal-Goldman said. “NASA is committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they take on difficult tasks with the agency, to push the boundaries of what\u2019s possible.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mission to stop a space observatory from falling to Earth has failed \u2014 Here\u2019s what happens next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[104630,64,63,129,138101,61204,353723,319521,89662,142083,51799,59161,131,49858,79163,17709,432038,432041,13976,128,285,432040,432039,432042,53583,4209,243234],"class_list":["post-862360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-atmosphere","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-earth","tag-failed","tag-failure","tag-katalyst","tag-katalyst-space-technologies","tag-lesson","tag-link","tag-mission","tag-mmnd","tag-nasa","tag-neil-gehrels-swift-observatory","tag-observatory","tag-orbit","tag-pegasus-xl","tag-rendezvous","tag-satellite","tag-science","tag-space","tag-space-observatory","tag-stargazer","tag-statement-wednesday","tag-swift","tag-way","tag-whats-next"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/43ed00f1-ffbb-42c6-bbcc-b5dc646cbb86.jpg\")
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