NASA has contracted a startup to launch a robotic spacecraft that will grab the aging Swift observatory and raise its orbit before it falls too low. The Link servicing satellite is set to fly on the final Pegasus rocket later this month.
Just 10 months after NASA approached three companies, Katalyst Space Technologies won a $30 million contract last September to build and launch the Link spacecraft. The mission aims to latch onto Swift with three robotic arms and boost the observatory back to a safe altitude.
Swift launched in 2004 to detect gamma-ray bursts but lacks thrusters. Aerodynamic drag has lowered its orbit from 363 miles to 225 miles as of last week. Engineers expect the spacecraft to drop below 186 miles by October, after which a rescue would be unsafe.
Katalyst completed Link in time for thermal vacuum and vibration tests, then shipped it to Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Pegasus XL rocket carrying Link is scheduled to launch June 27 from an aircraft over the Pacific near Kwajalein Atoll.
NASA officials said the accelerated timeline required skipping standard procurement steps and accepting higher risk. “I consider this a success already, just from the fact that we’re even going to try this,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division.
