GoKawiilNASA's Katalyst Space rescue mission for Swift satellite fails, observatory to deorbit
NASA and Katalyst Space attempted to use a robotic probe called LINK to grab the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and push it back into a stable orbit, but the probe suffered altitude-control failures shortly after its July launch, forcing cancellation of the mission. Swift, launched in 2004, is now expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up as soon as later this year, sooner than the 2030 estimate scientists once projected.
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Swift has been a key tool for detecting supernovas, gamma-ray bursts, and black hole activity for 21 years, so its loss removes a valuable instrument from astronomers' toolkit. The failed rescue also highlights the technical difficulty of servicing satellites never designed for in-orbit repair, a challenge NASA and private companies like Katalyst Space are still working to solve as atmospheric drag from solar activity accelerates satellite decay.
- Katalyst Space's LINK probe failed due to altitude-control issues, ending the Swift rescue attempt.
- Increased solar activity has expanded Earth's atmosphere, speeding up Swift's orbital decay to potentially this year.
- Swift's 21-year mission tracking supernovas and gamma-ray bursts will end as it burns up on reentry.
Celestron NexStar 130SLT Telescope — Swift's gamma-ray hunting days may be winding down, but you can keep watching the sky yourself with the Celestron NexStar 130SLT. Its computerized GoTo mount finds targets for you, so you can hop from the Moon's craters to Jupiter's moons without hunting manually. A great way to turn interest in orbiting observatories into your own backyard observing sessions.
See Celestron NexStar 130SLT Telescope on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: wired.com — Teruyuki Hayakawa, 2026-09-10
Published there as: “A Satellite Falling Out of Orbit Embarks on Its Final Mission”
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