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NASA's Swift Observatory Risks Crash: $30M Recovery Mission Planned

11/22/2025

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Summary

Story summary

NASA's Swift Observatory faces a 90% chance of uncontrolled reentry by the end of 2026 due to orbital decay.
NASA has contracted Katalyst Space Technologies for a $30 million mission to boost Swift into a stable orbit.
Katalyst plans to launch the LINK spacecraft on Northrop Grumman's Pegasus air-launched rocket.
The mission aims to show orbital-decay response and could benefit other observatories like Hubble; execution by June 2026 is required.

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Story summary

NASA's Swift Observatory faces a 90% chance of uncontrolled reentry by the end of 2026 due to orbital decay.
NASA has contracted Katalyst Space Technologies for a $30 million mission to boost Swift into a stable orbit.
Katalyst plans to launch the LINK spacecraft on Northrop Grumman's Pegasus air-launched rocket.
The mission aims to show orbital-decay response and could benefit other observatories like Hubble; execution by June 2026 is required.