NASA Launches Rescue Mission for Swift Space Telescope (heise.de)

• LINK launched July 3, 2026 via Pegasus XL over South Pacific
• Objective: raise Swift's orbit to prevent imminent crash
• Katalyst Space Technologies built LINK in months for $30M

"NASA launched the robotic LINK spacecraft on July 3, 2026 to boost the decaying Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbit. LINK lifted off at 10:36 CEST on a Pegasus XL rocket from an aircraft at 12 km altitude over the South Pacific. It will rendezvous with Swift in about two weeks, inspect it, then grapple and slowly raise its orbit. Swift, which detects gamma-ray bursts, has been experiencing faster-than-expected orbital decay due to increased solar activity and risked crashing within months. The $30 million mission was developed in record time by Katalyst Space Technologies."