{"id":646560,"date":"2026-08-20T03:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T03:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/646560\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T03:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T03:08:18","slug":"nasa-updates-next-steps-for-commercial-swift-boost-mission-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/646560\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA updates next steps for Commercial Swift Boost mission"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NASA and Katalyst Space have said the LINK spacecraft will no longer attempt to capture and boost the agency\u2019s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude, citing an ongoing attitude control issue affecting the commercial spacecraft.<\/p>\n

In an update issued Aug. 19 (Release 26-067), NASA said LINK will still attempt rendezvous and proximity operations with Swift to demonstrate capabilities relevant to future satellite servicing missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA 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,\u201d said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. \u201cThis 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. We are going to learn everything we can from LINK\u2019s rendezvous attempt and put those lessons to work on the missions that follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA said it is working with Katalyst to assess next steps for rendezvous and to collect data to inform future servicing operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew this was a high-risk, high-reward mission \u2013 a first-of-its kind attempt, developed on an unprecedented timeline driven by the Sun\u2019s activity,\u201d said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA\u2019s Astrophysics Division at headquarters in Washington. \u201cWe were all hoping for more science from Swift. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA said that without intervention it anticipates Swift is likely to re-enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere later this year. The agency said it will continue to prioritise options to respond rapidly to cosmic events, using existing missions to help cover the gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding, testing, and operating this mission has already strengthened America\u2019s space industry pipeline, advancing in-space servicing capabilities in completely new ways,\u201d Domagal-Goldman said. \u201cNASA is committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they take on difficult tasks with the agency, to push the boundaries of what\u2019s possible. We\u2019re so proud of this team for: getting to the launch pad in record time, in a record-setting year for NASA astrophysics launches; its innovative problem-solving up to this point; and the dedication to the exciting capabilities this mission will attempt to demonstrate next.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swift was launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic events and was originally designed for a two-year prime mission. NASA said the spacecraft\u2019s low Earth orbit began to decay more rapidly after 21 years of operations due to increased solar activity, prompting the agency to pursue a servicing mission. NASA awarded a contract to Katalyst in September 2025 to mount a robotic servicing mission for Swift in less than a year.<\/p>\n

LINK launched July 3 on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. NASA said teams established communications and conducted in-orbit checkouts in the weeks after launch before the spacecraft experienced attitude control issues.<\/p>\n

NASA said further updates will be posted to the Swift blog at https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/blogs\/swift<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA and Katalyst Space have said the LINK spacecraft will no longer attempt to capture and boost the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[77],"tags":[273590,18,19,17,234330,133,8913],"class_list":["post-646560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-commercial-swift-boost-mission","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-katalyst-space","tag-science","tag-spacecraft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117125638953789694","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}