# Swift Observatory

Type: Product

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

## 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.
- **2026-06**: Mission assembly complete — Katalyst’s Link spacecraft is built and ready for launch, marking 10 months from contract award.
- **2025-09**: Katalyst wins $30M contract — NASA awards Katalyst Space Technologies a $30 million contract to build and launch the Link servicing spacecraft.
- **2025-08**: NASA solicits rescue proposals — NASA asks three companies for concepts to save Swift, requiring a mission ready in under a year.
- **2025**: Orbital Decay Accelerates — Increased solar activity early in the solar cycle causes atmospheric expansion, dragging Swift down faster than predicted.
- **2004-11**: Swift Observatory launched — NASA’s Swift gamma-ray burst mission launched into a 585 km orbit, designed without thrusters.
- **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 (3 stories)

### $30M Salvage Mission for 20-Year-Old Swift Telescope Imperiled by Satellite Spin
2026-08-01 19:23:40 · Sentiment: Negative · 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

### NASA's $30M Rescue Bid Aims to Lift Swift Telescope by 149 Miles
2026-06-29 01:00:41 · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 7/10 · Sources: 6

NASA is launching a pioneering $30M robotic mission with startup Katalyst Space to save the 22-year-old Swift gamma-ray observatory from orbital decay. The first US satellite servicing attempt will raise Swift’s orbit from 224 to 373 miles, setting a precedent for extending Hubble and on-orbit maintenance.
Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/nasa-30m-swift-orbit-rescue

### $30M Rescue Aims to Save NASA’s $500M Swift Telescope from Orbital Decay
2026-06-19 02:27:03 · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 7/10 · Sources: 2

NASA has contracted startup Katalyst Space Technologies to save the $500 million Swift Observatory from burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. The $30 million mission, developed in just 10 months, involves an autonomous spacecraft with robotic arms that will dock with Swift and boost its orbit—a first for a science satellite in low-Earth orbit.
Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/nasa-swift-rescue-katalyst-link

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