# Link satellite

Type: Product

Source: Space & Defense Intelligence Brief — https://getspacebrief.com/entity/link-satellite
Canonical HTML page: https://getspacebrief.com/entity/link-satellite

## Timeline

- **2026-07-28**: Anomaly Publicly Disclosed — Katalyst announces the issue, stating the mission remains active and expressing confidence in a recovery path.
- **2026-07-25**: Thruster Malfunction — Link experiences a thruster problem, sending it into an uncontrolled spin that disrupts communications and threatens the mission.
- **2026-07-05**: Link Satellite Launch — Katalyst Space Technologies launches the Link rescue vehicle on a rapid timeline, roughly three weeks before the anomaly.
- **2025**: Orbital Decay Accelerates — Increased solar activity early in the solar cycle causes atmospheric expansion, dragging Swift down faster than predicted.
- **2004**: Swift Observatory Launched — NASA sends the Swift gamma-ray burst telescope into orbit for a mission expected to last years; it becomes a premier instrument for high-energy astrophysics.

## Recent coverage (1 stories)

### $30M Salvage Mission for 20-Year-Old Swift Telescope Imperiled by Satellite Spin
2026-08-01 19:23:40 · Sentiment: Bearish · Impact: 6/10 · Sources: 3

Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link satellite has entered an uncontrolled spin after a thruster failure, jeopardizing the $30 million NASA-funded effort to boost the aging Swift Observatory. The 2004-launched telescope faces an autumn reentry if the startup cannot regain control soon.
Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/30m-swift-rescue-mission-link-spin-anomaly

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