To avoid this risk and extend the life of the observatory, NASA commissioned an Arizona-based spaceflight startup to carry out a daring rescue mission.

And it happened Katalyst Space Technologies in Flagstaff on a $30 million NASA grant to raise the orbit of the Swift Space Observatory, or Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory mission.

The company is developing a spacecraft called LINK, designed to dock itself with the Swift observatory and move it to a stable orbit.

Catalyst has less than eight months to launch the rescue vehicle, with a final launch date of June 2026. Surprisingly, the company plans – according to an announcement it published on Wednesday – to launch the mission using a missile dropped from a plane in the air.

The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004 to monitor gamma ray explosions, which are the most violent explosions in the known universe. Over two decades in low Earth orbit, the observatory gradually lost its altitude, as happens to all satellites, but recent increased solar activity has accelerated the orbital decay process at an alarming pace.

By mid-2026, there was a 50% chance that the observatory would return out of control, and the percentage would rise to 90% by the end of 2027.

Although the observatory will completely melt into the atmosphere without danger to humans or property, NASA and Catalyst hope to extend its scientific life.

Catalyst chose the Pegasus missile from Northrop Grumman for this mission, which is an air-launched missile that falls from an airplane at an altitude of 40,000 feet, then falls free for five seconds before igniting its engine and ascending to orbit.

The popularity of Pegasus has declined with the advent of cheaper ground rockets, and the Catalyst mission will be its first flight since 2021. The company asserts that “Pegasus is the only system that can meet orbit, schedule and budget requirements simultaneously.”

Swift orbits the Earth at an inclination of 20.6 degrees to avoid the “South Atlantic Anomaly” – a weak area in the Earth’s magnetic field that exposes satellites to higher radiation levels. This special orbit requires a huge amount of fuel to reach it from conventional ground platforms.

Pegasus overcomes this obstacle with its air-launch design, and being a proven vehicle, it is ready for launch in a short time.

After the LINK is deployed, it will perform a series of precise maneuvers to approach the Swift. Since there are no capture ports at the observatory, Link will use a custom robotic mechanism to attach to part of the satellite’s body to adjust its orbit.

Source: Gizmodo