NASA NASA is attempting to stop a space observatory from dropping to earth.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is NASA’s astrophysics multitool, capable of quickly observing a wide range of cosmic objects in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light.
All spacecraft in low Earth orbit experience slight drag from our planet’s atmosphere. If they don’t have propulsion systems to maintain their orbits, the drag gradually reduces their altitudes.
A recent bout of solar storms magnified this effect on Swift, which began to sink faster than anticipated.
Katalyst Space has been contracted to lift the observatory.
This month, Katalyst’s LINK robotic servicing spacecraft launched into orbit aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, to attempt to capture and raise Swift over the course of several months.
Katalyst won the contract in September 2025, so it had less than a year to design, build, test, and launch a spacecraft to meet, grab, and lift Swift.
In the meantime, teams at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre Pennsylvania State University’s Eberly College of Science in University Park made innovative operational changes to keep Swift at least 300 km above Earth, where the boost mission has the best chance of success.
While NASA could have allowed Swift to re-enter the atmosphere, the situation presented an opportunity to demonstrate a key capability for the future of space exploration. This daring approach also extends Swift’s scientific lifetime and is more affordable than replacing the observatory’s unique capabilities.
On 3 July 3, Northrop Grumman’s Stargazer aircraft took off from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean, climbed to about 40 000 feet, and dropped a Pegasus XL rocket carrying Katalyst Space’s LINK robotic servicing spacecraft.
Pegasus XL’s three solid rocket motors fired in sequence to deliver LINK to orbit to boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
The latest news is that teams have successfully established communications with LINK.
Making contact with LINK was the spacecraft’s first in-orbit operation, after launch and separation Friday from Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket and power-on.
Over the next several weeks, Katalyst will perform checkout procedures for LINK, including assessments of its propulsion, sensor, and navigation systems.
LINK will then approach Swift and complete a survey of the 21-year-old observatory, before capturing and lifting it over the course of several months.