NASA Swift Boost Spacecraft Prepares to Continue Mission

Katalyst Space has updated the software on its LINK spacecraft in preparation for an orbital rescue. LINK is designed to intercept NASA's Swift Observatory and boost it to a higher orbit, and the new algorithms will keep it stable during the critical maneuvers. Swift is currently at about two hundred sixteen miles altitude, gradually sinking due to atmospheric drag. In the coming days, LINK will execute a series of burns and maneuvers to intercept and capture Swift—before it drops below one hundred eighty-five miles, the altitude below which rescue becomes impractical. Per NASA Science, the Swift team has already slowed the satellite's decay using innovative techniques, buying precious time for this mission to succeed.

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