{"id":948076,"date":"2026-05-09T10:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/948076\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T10:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:14:19","slug":"rescue-mission-for-nasas-500-million-space-telescope-passes-key-testing-milestone-spaceflight-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/948076\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescue mission for NASA\u2019s $500 million space telescope passes key testing milestone \u2013 Spaceflight Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Engineers from Katalyst stabilize their Link robotic servicing spacecraft as it moves into a vibration chamber at NASA Goddard on April 15, 2026. The vibration chamber simulated the intense shaking Link will experience during launch. Image: NASA\/Sophia Roberts<\/p>\n

A mission to prevent a $500 million NASA space observatory from meeting a fiery demise just passed a notable prelaunch testing milestone. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a spacecraft launched in 2004, is at risk of falling back through the atmosphere and burning up without intervention.<\/p>\n

On Friday, NASA announced that the Link spacecraft, manufactured by Katalyst Space Technologies to intervene before Swift\u2019s fate is sealed, completed its slate of environmental testing at the agency\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Testing in the Space Environment Simulator concluded on Monday, May 4, and the spacecraft returned to Katalyst\u2019s facilities in Broomfield, Colorado, for additional, prelaunch testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Swift boost attempt is a fast, high-risk, high-reward mission,\u201d said John Van Eepoel, Swift\u2019s mission director at NASA Goddard<\/a>, in a NASA press release. \u201cSwift will likely re-enter the atmosphere sometime later this year if we don\u2019t attempt to lift it to a higher altitude. Katalyst has gotten to this point in just eight months, and we\u2019re glad they were able to use NASA\u2019s facilities to test Link and draw on our expertise to help tackle questions that popped up along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swift doesn\u2019t have it\u2019s own onboard propulsion system and would naturally decay in orbit over time. However, increased solar activity in recent years accelerated the lowering timeline for the observatory, dropping it from about 600 km to 400 km, with anticipated reentry in late 2026 without intervention.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why in September 2025, NASA awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract to develop a spacecraft capable of docking with Swift and boosting its orbit.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kieran Wilson, Link\u2019s principal investigator at Katalyst Space Technologies in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Hunter Robertson, a space systems engineer at Katalyst, stand next to their spacecraft inside the SES (Space Environment Simulator) at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on April 17, 2026, ahead of thermal vacuum testing. During testing in the SES, Link fired its three ion thrusters, deployed one of its three arms, and experienced space-like hot and cold temperatures. Image: NASA\/Sophia Roberts<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven how quickly Swift\u2019s orbit is decaying, we are in a race against the clock, but by leveraging commercial technologies that are already in development, we are meeting this challenge head-on,\u201d said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters, at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a forward-leaning, risk-tolerant approach for NASA. But attempting an orbit boost is both more affordable than replacing Swift\u2019s capabilities with a new mission, and beneficial to the nation \u2014 expanding the use of satellite servicing to a new and broader class of spacecraft.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in an unusual situation where the schedule dictates how much risk we\u2019re willing to accept, rather than the other way around,\u201d said Kieran Wilson, Link\u2019s principal investigator at Katalyst. \u201cThe clock is ticking on Swift\u2019s descent, so we have to find a balance between testing and problem solving that gives the mission the best chance of success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swift is in an orbit inclined 20.6 degrees from the equator, which is why Katalyst selected Northrop Grumman\u2019s Pegasus XL air-launched rocket in November to fly the mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe versatility offered by Pegasus\u2019 unique air-launch capability provides customers with a space launch solution that can be rapidly deployed anywhere on Earth to reach any orbit,\u201d said Kurt Eberly, Director of Space Launch for Northrop Grumman. \u201cThe stringent mission requirements necessary to save the Swift observatory, including the unique low-inclination orbit and the tight mission timeline, all pointed to Pegasus being the perfect choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mission is set to launch in June. Link will first integrate with the Pegasus rocket at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia early in the month and then the company\u2019s L-1011 aircraft will deploy the spacecraft from the Marshall Islands later in the month.<\/p>\n

\"\"A graphical overview of the plan to extend the lift of NASA\u2019s Swift observatory. Graphic: Katalyst Space Technologies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Engineers from Katalyst stabilize their Link robotic servicing spacecraft as it moves into a vibration chamber at NASA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[70,413,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-948076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116544096301417105","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}