Private Spacecraft Fails in NASA Telescope Rescue Bid, Falls to Earth

A private spacecraft on a mission to rescue NASA's aging Swift Observatory has fallen back to Earth, marking the end of a $30 million salvage effort. Katalyst Space Technologies announced Friday that its three-armed spacecraft, named Link, reentered the atmosphere overnight.

The Swift Observatory itself is expected to follow in early November as its orbit decays.

"While we’ll be sad to see Swift’s mission come to a close, we knew this boost effort would be worthwhile either way," NASA's Shawn Domagal-Goldman said in a statement. He added that the mission provided valuable practice for future satellite-rescue operations and pushed teams to accelerate their work.

Launched on July 3, Link was intended to capture the 22-year-old Swift, which was spiraling into a lower orbit due to the sun's intense flare-ups, and move it to a higher, longer-lasting orbit. To conserve Swift's orbit, NASA had suspended its observations earlier this year and repositioned the telescope to reduce atmospheric drag.

Link quickly encountered electronic problems shortly after its launch, disabling two of the three reaction wheels necessary for spacecraft orientation. A faulty valve subsequently caused the satellite to spin rapidly, disrupting communication. Although engineers regained control, Link lacked sufficient fuel to complete its mission, leading to the cancellation of the rescue attempt in August.

In the remaining weeks, Katalyst focused on practicing with Link's robotic arms, each approximately 3 feet long and equipped with gripper mechanisms. Flight controllers successfully maneuvered the spacecraft to within 7 to 9 miles of Swift, enabling them to capture images.

"We knew from the beginning that this was an ambitious mission on an aggressive timeline," said Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee. He stated that the company would apply the lessons learned to future satellite recovery endeavors, calling the mission "a foundation we can build on."

Swift, launched in 2004 at a cost of $364 million, is designed to rapidly pivot to observe transient cosmic events like gamma ray bursts and exploding stars. Its role as an early alert system for other telescopes is now a gap NASA is working to fill.