A mission that seemed impossible just 10 months ago is now underway. On July 3, a small spacecraft called LINK launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands on the final flight of Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket, beginning a daring effort to rescue NASA’s aging Swift Observatory from a decaying orbit.
If successful, the mission will demonstrate that decades-old satellites never designed for servicing can be captured, boosted, and given a second life, potentially opening a new era for on-orbit satellite repair.
LINK reached orbit successfully and established communications with ground teams on July 3. Its solar panels have deployed and power systems are confirmed working. Over the coming weeks, the spacecraft will undergo checkout of its navigation, propulsion, and sensor systems before beginning the delicate approach to Swift.
The mission was born from urgent necessity. Swift, launched in November 2004 on a two-year primary mission, is one of NASA’s most productive astrophysics observatories. But it has no propulsion system of its own, it was never designed to adjust its orbit, and solar cycle 25 proved far more active than predicted. Heated and expanded by the Sun’s high activity, Earth’s upper atmosphere created unexpected drag that pulled Swift from its original 600-kilometer orbit down to roughly 375 kilometers. Below 300 kilometers, the drag would be too great for any rescue mission to overcome.
In September 2025, NASA awarded a $30 million contract to Katalyst Space Technologies, a Colorado-based startup founded in 2020, to do something no company had done before: build a satellite that could chase down another satellite, grab it, and push it back to safety, all in less than a year.
“No one thought it was going to be possible,” said Swift principal investigator Brad Cenko.
How LINK works
LINK is a 425-kilogram (935-pound) spacecraft equipped with a patented robotic capture system called the Split Stewart Platform, three independent foldable gripping arms, each tipped with precision LiDAR sensors. The arms were designed to grab Swift by its pre-launch transportation flanges, the only hard attachment points available on a spacecraft that has no docking ring.
The capture sequence goes like this: LINK approaches Swift using optical cameras, LiDAR, and relative GPS navigation; performs a flyby inspection to assess the condition of the 21-year-old spacecraft; then extends its three arms to grip Swift’s flanges and lock into a rigid connection. Three xenon Hall-effect ion thrusters will then fire gently over approximately two months to lift the combined stack from 375 kilometers back to Swift’s original operational altitude of roughly 600 kilometers.
The extended lifespan from the boost: up to 10 additional years of operations.
Why Swift matters
Swift has detected roughly 1,800 gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, including GRB 080319B, which was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye from 7.5 billion light-years away, and the “BOAT” (Brightest Of All Time) GRB, the brightest observed in approximately 10,000 years. Swift’s rapid autonomous slewing capability allows it to repoint its three instruments, the Burst Alert Telescope, the X-Ray Telescope, and the UV/Optical Telescope, within seconds of detecting a burst, alerting observatories worldwide. Its observations of kilonovae confirmed that neutron star mergers forge heavy elements like gold and platinum. There is no planned replacement.
“The forward-leaning, risk-tolerant approach is both more affordable than replacing Swift’s capabilities with a new mission, and beneficial to the nation, expanding the use of satellite servicing to a new and broader class of spacecraft,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA’s Astrophysics Division Director.
What’s next
Swift has suspended science observations to conserve orbital lifetime for the approaching LINK spacecraft. The checkout phase will last several weeks. If the capture and boost succeed, it will be the first time a commercial satellite has rescued a non-serviceable government spacecraft in orbit, and a proof point for a satellite-servicing industry still in its infancy.
Katalyst has already raised an additional $12 million for its next project: a geostationary servicing mission called NEXUS-1, scheduled to launch on Ariane 6 in 2027.
Sources
- Crane L. “Audacious mission to rescue NASA’s falling telescope has launched.” New Scientist, July 3, 2026. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2532627-audacious-mission-to-rescue-nasas-falling-telescope-has-launched/
- NASA Science Blog. “Mission To Boost NASA’s Swift Launches From Marshall Islands.” July 3, 2026. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/
- NASA Science Blog. “Teams Make Contact With Spacecraft Set to Boost NASA’s Swift.” July 3, 2026.
- Katalyst Space Technologies press releases (August 2025 – June 2026).