{"id":806203,"date":"2026-08-07T23:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/806203\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:12:10","slug":"swift-observatory-rescue-mission-spun-out-of-control-whats-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/806203\/","title":{"rendered":"Swift observatory rescue mission spun out of control. What\u2019s next"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n A daring mission<\/a> to rescue one of NASA\u2019s crucial space observatories from falling to Earth has encountered issues of its own \u2014 but there may still be hope for both spacecraft to beat the odds.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has served as an astrophysics multitool in low-Earth orbit since it launched nearly 22 years ago, acting as NASA\u2019s first responder in space when celestial objects flare with activity, according to mission scientists.\n <\/p>\n

\n But atmospheric drag intensified by solar activity exerted its forces on the observatory. Without any intervention, Swift is likely to reenter our planet\u2019s atmosphere this fall once it sinks below an optimal altitude of about 185 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth, according to NASA\u2019s predictions.\n <\/p>\n

\n The agency selected Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to design, build, test and launch \u2014 all in the span of just nine months \u2014 a spacecraft capable of rendezvousing with Swift and boosting its orbit.\n <\/p>\n

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\n The robotic satellite, named LINK, launched on July 3. It lifted off on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was released midair by the company\u2019s modified L-1011 aircraft, Stargazer.\n <\/p>\n

\n Everything appeared to go according to plan until LINK began to spin in space around July 25, causing a temporary loss of communications, Katalyst and NASA said on July 28.\n <\/p>\n

\n While LINK\u2019s spin now appears to be largely under control, the satellite\u2019s rendezvous with Swift is facing a delay. Now, it remains unclear whether LINK will reach the observatory in time.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think one of the difficult things to convey is how amazing it is that we\u2019ve gotten this far,\u201d said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, division director of astrophysics at NASA, during a June 17 news conference. \u201cEven if everyone does everything perfectly, there still might be risks that we cannot control ahead of us. I\u2019m just deeply thankful that we\u2019re even giving this a go.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Here\u2019s everything that has happened so far.\n <\/p>\n

\n After LINK\u2019s successful launch into orbit, Katalyst\u2019s mission operations team confirmed<\/a> it was in communication with the satellite.\n <\/p>\n

\n Katalyst\u2019s original plan included a few weeks of health checks for LINK\u2019s navigation and sensors in space.\n <\/p>\n

\n Both Katalyst and NASA reported about a week after launch that commissioning was going according to plan. The satellite had deployed its solar arrays and was firing its thrusters.\n <\/p>\n

\n Katalyst said on July 13 that LINK was halfway through the activation phase. Two days later, NASA posted a similar update but also said the team had run into some issues.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe Katalyst team also quickly addressed early communications and attitude control issues seen during flight operations, including an issue with one of the spacecraft\u2019s three reaction wheels,\u201d according to NASA\u2019s post on July 15<\/a>. \u201cAfter identifying the cause, they implemented flight software patches and operational updates that restored reliable communications and stable attitude control.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Katalyst said over a week later that the team was validating LINK\u2019s performance, and the spacecraft was preparing for its upcoming rendezvous with Swift. Part of the process included increasing the duration of the satellite\u2019s thruster burns to get ready for the multi-hour firings needed while grappling the observatory.\n <\/p>\n

\n But on July 28, the company said LINK had been in a multi-axis spin for three days.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cPreliminary investigation shows that two of LINK\u2019s three reaction wheels currently are not operable, and there is some loss of functionality in its cold gas thruster system,\u201d NASA shared in a post<\/a> that day, adding that Katalyst had a plan to reduce the spin and would reassess any plans related to Swift.\n <\/p>\n

\n Two days later, Katalyst provided an update that the team had reduced LINK\u2019s spin rate from about 9 degrees per second to 4 degrees per second using a series of thruster burns.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cTeams also further evaluated LINK\u2019s functionality and determined there are still potential paths forward for a boost,\u201d NASA shared in a post on July 31<\/a>. \u201cNASA is working closely with Katalyst to consider revised, innovative approaches.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Now, Katalyst has confirmed it is making progress with LINK to restore its original mission to save Swift. The mission team has curbed the spacecraft\u2019s spin rate to 1.47 degrees per second. LINK will maintain this rotation speed while the team prepares for its next steps, the company said on Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe team used one of LINK\u2019s electric propulsion thrusters to slow the spacecraft down, consuming less than 100 grams of propellant to conserve fuel for the rendezvous and boost phase of the mission,\u201d Katalyst said in its post.\n <\/p>\n

\n The mission team plans to send a flight software update that will restore LINK\u2019s orientation in space and allow for the maneuvers necessary to align the satellite\u2019s orbit with that of the observatory.\n <\/p>\n

\n Originally, LINK was expected to conduct a survey of Swift, presumably at the end of July, to determine the best grappling points on the observatory, but that\u2019s now expected to happen a month later.\n <\/p>\n

\n After securing Swift in its grasp, LINK will carefully fire its three ion thrusters, aiming to boost the observatory back to its original orbit over the course of two to three months.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s unclear how the delay will impact the original plans for the mission, but prior to 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAll of this is challenging and risky,\u201d said Kieran Wilson, principal investigator for LINK at Katalyst, during a June 17 news conference. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of spacecraft that have had far longer development cycles with far more funding behind them that have failed for mundane reasons.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Named for fast-flying swift birds due to its ability to pivot rapidly to peer at cosmic events and afterglows, the telescope has enabled the study of comets, gravitational waves and black holes over long periods of time.\n <\/p>\n

\n With no plans on the horizon for a telescope that has Swift\u2019s unique capabilities, NASA decided it was more cost-effective to try to save the observatory. To prevent a drainage of power, Swift isn\u2019t currently making science observations, but that could change this fall if LINK is successful.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A daring mission to rescue one of NASA\u2019s crucial space observatories from falling to Earth has encountered issues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":806204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-806203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/806204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}