A spacecraft that was launched in July on a mission to rescue a decaying NASA space observatory fell back to Earth on Friday, concluding a failed mission that will be followed by the telescope’s disappearance within several weeks. Link, billed as “America’s first commercial space robot,” lifted off July 3 from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific islands with the goal of raising the orbit and prolonging the life of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a satellite that has studied gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic events for the past 22 years. He came within 12 to 15 kilometers (7 to 9 mi) of Swift and was able to take a series of images detailing its condition, but a series of earlier in-flight problems that hampered motion control and communications meant that Link was unable to capture the observatory as planned and release it at a higher altitude. Katalyst Space Technologies, the Flagstaff, Arizona-based company that won a $30 million NASA contract for the salvage mission in September 2024, and put together an ambitious rescue plan in 22 months, announced in a news release Friday morning that its three-armed spacecraft had re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after 85 days in orbit. Without the altitude climb, Swift, a collaboration between NASA and Penn State University that launched in November 2004, will continue its own descent in the coming weeks and is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in November. “From the beginning, this was a high-risk, high-reward mission,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said in a statement. “While we will be sad to see Swift’s mission come to an end, we knew this momentum effort would be worth it either way: advancing American spacecraft maintenance technology, challenging us to meet unprecedented mission schedules, and testing how we operate satellites to extend their time in low-Earth orbit.” NASA Administrator Isaacman also praised the mission in a statement. “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,” he said. “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it doesn’t change why this mission was worth attempting. The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift the opportunity to perform more science while advancing the capabilities the United States will need for satellite service in the future.” Life expectancy was shortened by the intense flares of the sun, which he was sent to observe. NASA suspended its observations earlier this year and repositioned Swift to try to minimize downward drag from the atmosphere while preparing the rescue mission. Electronic problems aboard Link after launch disabled two of its three reaction wheels needed for maneuvering, and at one point the spacecraft entered a deep spin. Communication and control were restored, but mission managers abandoned the rescue effort last month when it became clear there was not enough fuel left.
