NASA Cancels LINK Rescue Mission; Swift to Reenter

NASA and private contractor Katalyst Space have canceled the LINK rescue mission after the Link spacecraft suffered persistent attitude-control problems, including an uncontrollable spin and loss of communications, preventing it from grabbing and boosting NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbit. The failure means Swift, launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts, will likely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere later this year, ending a high-risk effort to extend its life. Despite the setback, NASA officials said the mission yielded valuable lessons for future satellite-servicing and close-proximity operations, and Link will continue to maneuver near Swift to demonstrate proximity navigation and collect data. The project cost about $30 million and was designed and launched within a nine-month window, emphasizing its experimental nature. NASA and Katalyst say they will assess remaining objectives and extract technical value from Link, even as the primary rescue objective is abandoned. The effort illustrated rapid, high-stakes experimentation in space operations and the potential for data-driven advances despite an unsuccessful outcome.