NASA Abandons $30 Million Swift Telescope Rescue Mission, Observatory Doomed to Burn Up

NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have abandoned a $30 million mission to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, leaving the 22-year-old space telescope to burn up in Earth's atmosphere later this year. The decision came after the Link servicing spacecraft suffered irreversible attitude control problems, including the failure of two of its three reaction wheels and partial thruster malfunctions. Link launched July 3 on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket and initially passed early checks, but by July 28 it had entered an uncontrolled spin at about 9 degrees per second. Controllers slowed the spin but could not recover full control capability. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency would learn from the attempt, adding: "This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting". Katalyst will still attempt to rendezvous with Swift to demonstrate navigation systems for future satellite servicing missions. The Swift observatory, launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts, is now orbiting at about 345 kilometers altitude and is expected to re-enter by late 2026.