KATALYST SPACECRAFT ENCOUNTERS THRUSTER PROBLEMS DURING SWIFT RESCUE MISSION

Katalyst Space's LINK spacecraft has encountered technical difficulties during its mission to rescue NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Two of the spacecraft's three reaction wheels are not operable, and the vehicle has entered an uncontrolled multi-axis spin that has caused sporadic loss of communications. The problems began over the weekend, three weeks after LINK's launch aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket. NASA also reported some loss of functionality in the spacecraft's cold-gas thruster system. Controllers are using LINK's electric propulsion thrusters to halt the spin whilst its other major subsystems remain operational.

Swift, launched in 2004, is descending faster than expected due to recent solar activity and will re-enter Earth's atmosphere this autumn without intervention. NASA is paying Katalyst $30 million for the rescue effort, which was contracted and executed in under a year. The mission requires LINK to rendezvous with Swift and boost the observatory to a higher orbit. If LINK can restore a stable attitude, Katalyst intends to update the spacecraft's guidance, navigation, and control system before proceeding with the approach and capture sequence. The commissioning phase has included deployment of solar arrays, power generation checks, and system verification.

Katalyst stated that the mission remains active and the company continues to believe LINK has a viable path to rendezvous with Swift despite the current difficulties. The team has already implemented flight software patches and operational updates that previously restored reliable communications and three-axis stabilised attitude control. NASA has paused most Swift science operations to buy time for the reboost mission. Neither Katalyst nor NASA has indicated abandonment of the rescue effort.