NASA's Swift Telescope Doomed After Rescue Mission Fails

NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a space telescope that has spent 22 years detecting gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy cosmic events, is now headed for an uncontrolled reentry after a private rescue mission failed to save it.

NASA had contracted Katalyst Space Technologies for about $30 million to build a servicing spacecraft called LINK, aiming to grapple Swift and boost it into a higher, more stable orbit. LINK launched on July 3, 2026, aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket.

About three weeks into its mission, LINK began spinning uncontrollably and lost two of its three reaction wheels. Engineers managed to stabilize the craft using its main propulsion engines, but the maneuver drained fuel reserves needed for both LINK's own stabilization and the Swift rescue, forcing NASA and Katalyst to call off the boost attempt.

Swift has already dropped roughly 10 kilometers in altitude over the past month, and NASA projects the observatory will fall out of orbit before the end of 2026, with some estimates pointing to late November or December. Mission controllers will lose the ability to maneuver Swift once it descends below about 300 kilometers.

NASA says most of Swift's structure is expected to burn up during reentry, though some components could survive and reach the ground. The agency has not identified a specific safety risk to the public and says it will provide updates as the reentry date approaches.