Robotic Space Rescue
Virginia-integrated mission launches to save NASA's Swift Observatory from falling out of orbit
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NASA is racing to save a 21-year-old space telescope before it falls out of the sky. The agency awarded a $30 million contract to Arizona startup Katalyst Space Technologies to build a robotic spacecraft called LINK — and send it to grab the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and push it back into a safe orbit, according to NASA. If it works, it will be the first time a commercial robot has captured a government satellite that was never built to be touched.
The rocket, spacecraft, and carrier aircraft were all assembled at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia before the mission set off for the Marshall Islands, where a June 27 launch is targeted, Astronomy Magazine reported. Without this rescue, Swift faces a 90% chance of an uncontrolled reentry by late 2026.
Swift's Freefall From 600 km to Crisis
Swift launched in 2004 and has no engine of its own. It relies entirely on the orbital energy it started with. The 2024 solar maximum caused Earth's upper atmosphere to expand, dragging Swift down from 600 km to roughly 370 km — a loss of 230 km, according to SatNews. In February 2026, the Swift team shut down two of the telescope's three instruments just to make the spacecraft more aerodynamic and slow the fall.
Swift detects gamma-ray bursts — the most powerful explosions in the universe — and alerts ground telescopes within seconds. It spots about 100 bursts per year. There is no replacement planned, so a crash would leave scientists with no equivalent tool, Aerospace Global News reported.
Virginia's Wallops Facility Built the Mission Together
The LINK spacecraft arrived at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on June 5, 2026, according to NASA Goddard. Engineers there attached LINK to a Pegasus XL rocket, which was then bolted to the belly of Northrop Grumman's Stargazer L-1011 aircraft on June 12. On June 18, the Stargazer departed Virginia on a ferry flight to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The Marshall Islands site was chosen because Swift orbits at a 20.6-degree inclination. A launch from near the equator gives the rocket the best chance of matching that path, WRAL reported. This is also expected to be the final flight of the Pegasus XL rocket, capping a long career for the air-launch system.
A Robot Grabs a Satellite Never Meant to Be Grabbed
LINK weighs about 400 kg and uses computer vision and robotic arms to latch onto Swift's launch adapter ring — a structural piece never designed as a handle. NASA mission official Shawn Domagal-Goldman admitted, "Frankly, I have to be honest: No one thought it was going to be possible" to build a rescue spacecraft in just nine months, according to Space.com.
Katalyst Space Technologies was founded to do exactly this kind of work, but LINK is their first-ever flight mission. NASA awarded them a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research contract worth $30 million in September 2025, per Wikipedia. The biggest technical risk is the approach itself — a collision could create a debris cloud and destroy Swift entirely.
A $30 Million Fix for a $500 Million Asset
NASA spent an estimated $500 million building, launching, and operating Swift over two decades. Spending $30 million to save it makes a strong economic case for the growing "space tug" industry. NASA Associate Administrator Nicky Fox said the agency is committed to using commercial innovation to open "new capabilities for the future of the American space sector," according to Space Connect.
If LINK succeeds, Katalyst plans to scale up with a craft called NEXUS to service satellites in geostationary orbit in 2027, per Wikipedia. Industry analysts say this mission is a template for how the U.S. government can maintain aging scientific and national security satellites rather than replacing them at full cost, SatNews reported.
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