Startup's three-armed spacecraft aims to rescue NASA's aging Swift Observatory from orbital decay

Arizona-based startup Katalyst Space Technologies is racing to save NASA's aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from burning up in Earth's atmosphere by developing a spacecraft that will boost the satellite back to a safe altitude. Swift, launched in 2004, has been studying gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic explosions for nearly two decades, but is now falling out of orbit due to atmospheric drag worsened by recent intense solar activity, Forbes reported. Katalyst's LINK spacecraft will launch from a Pegasus rocket deployed from an airplane in the Marshall Islands, with liftoff possible as early as this week, according to The Independent. The $30 million salvage operation, funded by NASA, involves a three-armed robotic vehicle designed to rendezvous with the telescope and push it into a higher orbit, extending its operational life. Forbes noted that the entire mission is being compressed into an accelerated 250-day development timeline. "The spacecraft is falling out of orbit due to atmospheric drag, worsened by recent intense solar activity," Forbes reported, highlighting the urgency of the rescue as Swift drifts toward reentry. The Independent described the hardware as a "three-armed robotic spacecraft," capable of grappling and boosting the observatory. "NASA is undertaking a rescue mission to save its aging Swift Observatory, which is at risk of falling back to Earth," The Independent added, noting that the operation is a rare attempt to salvage a satellite past its original design life. Flics reported that Katalyst Space Technologies is "working to save NASA's aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from burning up in Earth's atmosphere" by developing a spacecraft that would rendezvous and boost it. If successful, the mission could pave the way for future on-orbit servicing of other aging science satellites, a capability that has largely been limited to communications and government spacecraft.

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