NASA and Katalyst cancel Swift rescue mission after Link spacecraft control failures

NASA and its commercial partner Katalyst Space Technologies announced on August 19, 2026, that they have jointly abandoned a mission to rescue the agency's aging Swift Observatory, dooming the celebrated space telescope to an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere later this year. The decision followed weeks of failed attempts to correct critical control failures on the autonomous Link spacecraft, which was launched to capture the observatory and boost it to a higher orbit.

The rescue effort, awarded under a $30 million contract, was designed to reverse the rapid orbital decay of the 22-year-old telescope caused by intense solar activity. Swift, launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic explosions, was orbiting at about 216 miles (347 kilometers) as of last week, far below its original altitude of 373 miles (600 kilometers). Its primary science instruments had been deactivated earlier in 2026 to reduce atmospheric drag.

Link launched in early July on an accelerated production schedule. However, a few weeks after liftoff, the spacecraft entered an uncontrollable spin. Although flight controllers managed to slow the rotation, ongoing issues with its...