NASA and Katalyst abandon Swift telescope rescue mission

NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies announced Wednesday that the Link satellite will not be able to complete its mission to capture and boost the Swift gamma-ray observatory to a higher orbit. The rescue satellite, launched on July 3, suffered attitude-control failures when two of its three reaction wheels stopped working and its cold-gas thrusters malfunctioned, leaving only low-impulse plasma thrusters for orientation control.

Katalyst said the spacecraft remains operational and may still demonstrate its close-in navigation system, but it cannot perform the intended orbital-raising maneuver. "While the mission will not have the ending we originally intended, NASA and Katalyst are assessing what milestones remain ahead," the company said in a statement.

NASA had awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract less than a year ago, requiring a launch by the summer to reach Swift before its planned re-entry. The agency’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, noted that the effort represented a rapid, risk-tolerant approach, adding that the outcome does not diminish the mission’s scientific value.

The Swift observatory, launched in 2004, continues to provide gamma-ray burst data despite being well beyond its original design life. Without onboard thrusters, it relied on the rescue attempt to extend its service. NASA’s astrophysics division director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, said the work on Link has advanced in-space servicing capabilities and will inform future satellite-refueling and repair missions.

Swift is now expected to re-enter the atmosphere later this year, ending a 22-year science mission.