LINK will attempt a non-cooperative docking with Swift by clamping onto the satellite’s main-structure transportation flanges.
LINK will use three xenon-fueled Hall-effect ion thrusters to counter atmospheric drag and raise Swift back to its 600-kilometer altitude.
LINK will rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and attempt an orbital boost to raise Swift’s orbit.
NASA says Swift must remain at least 300 kilometers above Earth to increase the chances of a successful orbital boost.
The NASA Swift reboost effort is intended to extend Swift for a fraction of the cost of replacing it.
NASA awarded Katalyst Space a $30 million contract in September to develop and launch Link for the Swift Observatory reboost mission.
Northrop Grumman is preparing its Pegasus rocket and Stargazer L-1011 aircraft for a mission with Katalyst Space to extend the operational life of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
LINK will rendezvous with the NASA Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and attempt to raise its orbit.
The NASA Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is losing altitude and could reenter the atmosphere by the end of the year without an orbit-raising attempt.
NASA tasked Katalyst Space Technologies with launching Swift into orbit in September 2025.
Katalyst had less than a year to design, build, test, and launch LINK and to perform rendezvous, docking, and orbit-raising operations with Swift.
Katalyst Space Technologies’ LINK spacecraft is scheduled to launch in June to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
LINK will use a custom-built grappling mechanism to perform a non-cooperative docking with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and raise the observatory’s altitude from approximately 400 kilometers.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is a half-billion-dollar scientific asset experiencing accelerated orbital decay.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched in 2004 and was not designed to be serviced or captured.
The LINK mission will launch from the Marshall Islands on an L-1011 Stargazer aircraft to reach the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory’s 20.6-degree orbital inclination.
LINK will launch in June on a mission to raise the orbit of the Swift observatory.
Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft for the Swift Rescue Mission has arrived at NASA Goddard for environmental testing.
Katalyst Space's mission is intended to boost NASA's Swift Observatory.
Katalyst Space plans to raise the Swift Observatory back to its original orbit this summer.