WASHINGTON – Katalyst Space and NASA have canceled plans to use the company’s Link spacecraft to raise the orbit of the agency’s Swift gamma-ray observatory, citing attitude control problems with the spacecraft. The company announced on August 20 that it had concluded, in consultation with NASA, that its Link spacecraft will not attempt to catch Swift and raise its orbit as originally planned. The company said the decision was based on “ongoing attitude control issues” with Link, but did not elaborate. Katalyst launched Link on July 3 on a Pegasus XL rocket on a mission to attack Swift and raise its orbit. While the company initially reported that Link was in good condition after launch, on July 28 it stated that the spacecraft had entered a multi-axis spin caused by attitude control issues, including the loss of two of its three reaction wheels. The spacecraft’s reaction control system thrusters were only partially functional. In early August, the company said it had reduced that spin from 9 degrees per second to 1.47 degrees per second by using electric thrusters aimed at changing the spacecraft’s orbit. He later reported that controllers installed new flight software on the spacecraft. “We expect the updated configuration to support rendezvous operations and, in the next phase of the mission, attempt to capture and boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory,” he said in an Aug. 11 post. Link was then expected to arrive in Swift at the end of August. Neither Katalyst nor NASA explained what led them to conclude that Link could not safely grab and propel Swift. However, both said Link would conduct rendezvous and proximity operations in the vicinity of Swift rather than a reboot. “Katalyst designed, developed and launched an experimental spacecraft to carry out an ambitious mission on an aggressive schedule. We took on this high-risk, high-reward challenge and are proud of the milestones we achieved along the way,” Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space Technologies, said in a statement. The announcement comes almost exactly a year after NASA issued study contracts to Katalyst and Cambrian Works, in partnership with Astroscale US, to examine the feasibility of reviving Swift. The studies came after agency assessments found that Swift’s orbit was decaying faster than expected due to increased atmospheric drag, related to high solar activity, that would cause Swift to re-enter in late 2026. In September, NASA awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract to carry out the restart mission, repurposing a spacecraft the company had been developing for a low-Earth orbit demonstration of its servicing technology. of satellites. Throughout the process, both Katalyst and NASA emphasized that this was a risky mission but with potential benefits that went beyond simply saving Swift. “We knew this was a high-risk, high-reward mission: the first attempt of its kind, developed on an unprecedented timeline driven by the sun’s activity,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said in an agency statement. “We were all hoping for more science from Swift. But we knew the conclusions from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained a lot through the series of achievements up to this point.” “NASA should be willing to act quickly and take smart risks when the potential benefit is worth it, and that’s exactly what we did with this mission,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in the statement. “The team moved at extraordinary speed to give Swift the opportunity to perform more science while enhancing the capabilities the United States will need for satellite service in the future.” The company said it will use Link’s remaining operations to learn lessons that can be incorporated into its future satellite servicing missions. The company was one of three selected by the Space Development Agency and Defense Innovation Unit on Aug. 13 for study contracts to provide deorbitation services. “We’ve already learned a ton, and now our job is to turn those lessons into something lasting: build a repeatable manual to inform future rendezvous and proximity operations and satellite service,” Lee said. However, the decision to cancel the reboot spells the end for Swift, a spacecraft launched in 2004 to monitor gamma-ray bursts and other energetic astrophysical phenomena. The spacecraft now orbits between 343 and 347 kilometers altitude, and NASA said it expects the spacecraft to re-enter later this year. NASA had effectively ended all Swift science operations earlier this year as part of efforts to change the spacecraft’s operational profile and reduce atmospheric drag, buying more time for the restart mission. The agency did not say whether it will try to reactivate those instruments during the spacecraft’s final months. “NASA will continue to prioritize finding new options to react quickly to cosmic events, using current missions to help fill the gap in the meantime,” the agency said. Related
