The gamma-ray observatory that spent 22 years tracking the most powerful explosions in the universe is rapidly falling toward Earth because of record solar activity. On June 30, the first-ever mission to robotically intercept a scientific telescope will begin, with the goal of raising its orbit.
Why the Observatory Is Falling
The Swift telescope has been operating in space since 2004. Over two decades, its altitude has dropped from its original 600 kilometers to 360 kilometers. But the real threat emerged in 2024, when the peak of the 11-year solar activity cycle turned out to be much stronger than expected.
As a result, Earth’s upper atmosphere heats up and expands, increasing aerodynamic drag on low-orbit spacecraft. According to NASA, without intervention, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will burn up by the end of the year. The critical threshold below which rescue will no longer be possible is 300 kilometers, and according to the latest calculations, Swift will reach it in October.
Nine Months from Contract to Launch
In September 2025, NASA awarded a $30 million contract to Katalyst Space Technologies, a startup based in Flagstaff, Arizona. The company had less than a year to design, assemble, test, and launch the rescue spacecraft LINK — a pace that has few parallels among space missions.
LINK, roughly the size of a kitchen refrigerator, is equipped with three robotic arms with grippers and xenon-powered ion thrusters, while six-meter solar panels supply power to the spacecraft. It will launch aboard the final Pegasus XL rocket in history from Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands, where Northrop Grumman’s modified Stargazer aircraft will release it from an altitude of 12 kilometers.
The Rescue Operation
After reaching orbit, LINK will spend several weeks approaching Swift and visually inspecting attachment points on its body. The main challenge is that the observatory was never designed for servicing in space and has no docking ports or special grapple fixtures.
LINK’s robotic arms will attempt to latch onto structural elements originally intended for ground servicing. If successful, the spacecraft will slowly raise Swift’s altitude from 360 kilometers to about 600 kilometers over two months, then detach and perform a controlled descent. According to Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee, scientific observations could resume as early as September.
Why Swift Is Worth Saving
With Swift, astronomers can point observation instruments at any part of the sky within minutes of detecting a gamma-ray burst. No other spacecraft in orbit has that level of responsiveness. On average, the observatory received five urgent pointing requests per day from research teams.
The total cost of building, launching, and operating Swift over 22 years has reached $500 million. NASA currently has no budget to build a replacement, as the agency’s science mission chief Nicky Fox noted in a comment to the Associated Press.
A New Space Market
The choice of a private startup to save Swift reflects a shift in NASA’s approach to orbital servicing. In 2024, the agency canceled its own OSAM-1 program, previously known as Restore-L, because of major cost overruns and is now placing greater emphasis on commercial contractors.
Katalyst sees the Swift operation as the starting point for a new business line. Its next spacecraft, NEXUS, scheduled for launch in 2027, will be able to service satellites in geostationary orbit.
Next in line is the Hubble Space Telescope, whose orbit is also declining because of solar activity. According to Ghonhee Lee, Hubble could be boosted as early as 2028.
