NASA has contracted an Arizona-based aerospace startup, Katalyst Space Technologies, with a $30 million award to save the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from an uncontrolled re-entry. The telescope’s orbit is rapidly decaying due to increased solar activity boosting atmospheric drag. The startup will launch a spacecraft called LINK with a custom robotic capture mechanism to autonomously rendezvous with Swift and boost it into a more stable orbit by mid-2026. This mission demonstrates a vital new capacity for commercial satellite servicing in low-Earth orbit.
