The robot was supposed to save NASA’s telescope from destruction — but the mission failed
NASA has abandoned its attempt to rescue the Swift space observatory, which has been observing the most powerful explosions in the universe for over 20 years. The LINK robotic spacecraft, sent specifically to assist it, was supposed to capture the telescope and raise it into a higher orbit, but encountered serious control issues itself.
LINK will no longer capture Swift. Without such intervention, NASA expects the observatory to likely re-enter Earth’s atmosphere by the end of 2026. However, LINK itself has not yet been written off: it will be permitted to approach the telescope without capturing it, in order to test satellite maintenance technologies.
NASA has been trying to extend Swift’s operational life by a few more years
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched in 2004 primarily to study gamma-ray bursts — extremely powerful, short bursts of gamma radiation arising from some of the most extreme events in the Universe. The main mission was originally planned to last just two years, yet the observatory has been operational for more than two decades.
During this time, Swift has become a versatile space observatory. It has observed gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, stellar flares, active galaxies, comets and asteroids. By the mission’s 20th anniversary, the spacecraft had recorded around 1,800 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 supernovae, and its data had been used in more than 6,600 scientific publications.
Swift’s orbit itself became a problem. The spacecraft lacks a propulsion system capable of regularly compensating for altitude loss. Increased solar activity heats and expands the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, increasing drag on satellites in low Earth orbit. As a result, Swift began to descend faster than the engineers had anticipated.
$30 million was allocated for the rescue mission
In September 2025, NASA signed a $30 million contract with Katalyst Space Technologies. The company was given less than a year to build, test and launch a specialised spacecraft, LINK.
The plan resembled a space rescue mission. LINK was to catch up with Swift, inspect the ageing spacecraft, identify safe grip points, grasp it with three robotic arms, and then gradually raise it using its own engines to approximately its original orbit at an altitude of around 600 km.
LINK itself is a spacecraft weighing around 400 kg. It is equipped with three robotic arms and three xenon-powered electric thrusters. The launch took place on 3 July 2026 using a Pegasus XL rocket.
The problems began with the ‘rescuer’ itself
Initial in-space tests went relatively well, but by the end of July the situation changed dramatically. LINK encountered problems with its orientation system and began to spin. Communication with the spacecraft became unstable.
Preliminary diagnostics revealed that two of LINK’s three reaction wheels had ceased to function normally, whilst the small gas engine system had partially lost functionality. Reaction wheels allow the spacecraft to precisely adjust its orientation without consuming fuel — such precision is critical for approaching and capturing another satellite.
Initially, LINK was rotating around several axes simultaneously at a rate of around 9 degrees per second. Engineers used an electric motor to gradually dampen the rotation, reducing it to approximately 1.47 degrees per second by 6 August. The team had even prepared a new version of the software designed to allow the spacecraft to operate in its damaged configuration.
Capturing Swift proved too risky
Despite the partial restoration of control, on 19 August NASA and Katalyst decided to abandon the main part of the operation. LINK will not capture Swift and raise its orbit.
The reason was ongoing problems with the rescue spacecraft’s orientation. As the two satellites approached each other, a control error could have led to a collision, so the original plan was deemed unacceptable. Officially, NASA has announced that it is cancelling the capture and elevation of Swift, rather than the complete cessation of LINK’s operations.
“This is not the outcome we were hoping for,” admitted NASA’s head, Jared Isaacman. However, the agency considers the experiment itself to be valuable for the development of future technologies for servicing satellites in orbit.
Swift is now likely to leave orbit
Without an orbital raise, Swift’s time is virtually up. NASA expects the spacecraft to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere later in 2026.
Back at the start of the year, engineers were trying to slow its descent as much as possible. In February, NASA halted observations by the X-ray and ultraviolet-optical telescopes in order to keep the satellite constantly in a position offering the least atmospheric drag. In April, observations by the Burst Alert Telescope were also halted – this allowed the solar panels to be oriented even more effectively and reduced drag.
These measures bought some extra time. However, they were originally designed to ensure that Swift would last long enough to rendezvous with LINK. The main part of the rescue operation has now been called off.
LINK itself will nevertheless attempt to approach the telescope
The story is not over yet, however. NASA and Katalyst intend to attempt a rendezvous between LINK and Swift, along with operations at close range – but without physically capturing the telescope.
The objective has changed: rather than rescuing the old observatory, the engineers want to gather data on navigation and control during the rendezvous between the two spacecraft. This experience could prove useful for future missions where robotic satellites will inspect, move, repair or upgrade other spacecraft directly in orbit.
It would therefore be inaccurate to say that ‘the LINK mission has failed completely’. It was specifically the attempt to rescue Swift and raise its orbit that failed. The experimental spacecraft itself continues to operate.
Why Swift’s failure is important for future satellites
NASA initially viewed this operation not merely as a way of extending the life of a single observatory. Swift was not designed for in-space servicing: it lacks a dedicated docking port, so LINK was literally supposed to grab hold of the old spacecraft with robotic arms.
Success would have demonstrated that a commercial robot, built relatively quickly, is capable of reaching an old satellite and altering its orbit, even when the satellite itself was not intended for such an operation.
The first experiment ended differently: it was the ‘rescuer’ itself that had to be rescued. However, NASA hopes to draw on the experience gained for future attempts at servicing spacecraft.
Source
The main primary source is NASA’s official press release“NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission”, published on 19 August 2026. The agency confirmed that LINK will not capture and lift Swift due to ongoing problems with its orientation system. NASA expects Swift to re-enter the atmosphere before the end of 2026, but LINK will continue to attempt a rendezvous to demonstrate the technologies.
NASA awarded a contract to Katalyst Space Technologies in September 2025. The project was valued at $30 million, and the company was given less than a year to develop, test and launch LINK.