NASA's bid to save Swift from fiery death passes another hurdle

A rescue mission for NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has taken another step forward following the completion of environmental tests at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center. The purpose of the tests was to assess how the LINK robotic servicing spacecraft, supplied by Katalyst Space Technologies, would withstand the forces of launch and the extremes of the orbital environment. The mission is ambitious and fast-paced. It was only in August 2025 that NASA asked US industry for ideas on rescuing the observatory, whose orbit is decaying faster than expected. Katalyst was awarded the contract and has been working against the clock to launch its servicing spacecraft before Swift reaches the point of no return. In February 2026, NASA ended most science operations aboard Swift to keep the spacecraft in orbit long enough for the rescue mission. At the time, June 2026 was Katalyst's expected launch date and, thanks to the successful completion of testing, the mission remains on track. The next step is for Northrop Grumman to integrate LINK into its Pegasus rocket in early June, with launch planned from the last airworthy L-1011 TriStar (dubbed Stargazer) later that month. The LINK spacecraft has undergone vibration testing to simulate a Pegasus launch and thermal-vacuum testing in Goddard's Space Environment Simulator, where it experienced space-like hot and cold temperature extremes. The team also test-fired the spacecraft's three xenon-powered ion thrusters and deployed one of its robotic arms. Kieran Wilson, LINK's principal investigator at Katalyst, said: "We're in an unusual situation where the schedule dictates how much risk we're willing to accept, rather than the other way around. "The clock is ticking on Swift's descent, so we have to find a balance between testing and problem solving that gives the mission the best chance of success." After paying tribute to the speed at which Katalyst was moving, Swift mission director John Van Eepoel said: "Swift will likely re-enter the atmosphere sometime later this year if we don't attempt to lift it to a higher altitude." In this instance, the Swift observatory has nothing to lose and everything to gain from the reboost mission. The spacecraft is more than 20 years into a two-year task to study gamma-ray bursts. If it weren't for its decaying orbit (and the Trump administration's effort to terminate it - the mission was on the chopping block in the FY2026 budget proposal - it could continue observations for years to come. (R)