A commercial attempt to raise the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has ended without a reboost. NASA says the mission with the company Katalyst Space still produced valuable experience for future in-space servicing programmes.
Why Swift needed help
Swift launched in November 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts. The observatory has no propulsion system, and atmospheric drag, increased by a period of high solar activity, steadily lowered its orbit. NASA predicted that Swift would sink to the point of no return, about 300 kilometres altitude, in autumn 2026.
A mission built in about a year
In September 2025, NASA contracted Katalyst Space of Flagstaff, Arizona, to attempt the mission. The company had around one year to design, build, test and launch a servicing satellite that would meet, grab and lift Swift. Its LINK spacecraft launched in July 2026 from Kwajalein Atoll on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket. LINK carried a xenon-powered propulsion system and three robotic arms.
What happened in orbit
After reaching space and completing initial checkouts, LINK experienced intermittent communication losses and problems with its orientation control. NASA and Katalyst then scaled the mission back to technology demonstrations of the propulsion system and robotic arms. NASA ended its involvement on 3 September 2026, and LINK reentered the atmosphere on 25 September. According to NASA, LINK imaged Swift while passing at a distance of 12 to 15 kilometres.
To slow Swift's decay, the Penn State mission operations team pointed the observatory in low drag directions. From February 2026, Swift stopped normal pointed science observations for this purpose.
From the beginning, this was a high-risk, high-reward mission.Shawn Domagal-Goldman, Astrophysics Division director, NASA
What this means for in-orbit servicing
Most satellites are not designed to be captured or refuelled. The Swift attempt shows how hard it is to service such a spacecraft on a short timeline, but also how fast a commercial team can move from concept to launch. More background is in our guide to in-orbit servicing.
Sources
Cover image: The Swift spacecraft being prepared in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral before its launch in 2004. Credit: NASA (KSC-04pd1617), public domain.