Overview
- In late July the Katalyst-built LINK entered a multi‑axis tumble that disrupted communications and halted its planned approach to the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
- Engineers used a series of xenon electric‑propulsion burns to reduce LINK’s rotation from about 9 degrees per second to roughly 1.47 degrees per second.
- Mission teams report LINK is now power‑positive and intermittently contactable and the immediate next step is uploading flight software with new attitude controllers to regain steady pointing.
- The operation is time‑sensitive because Swift has been losing altitude faster than expected since fall 2024 due to increased solar activity, leaving a shrinking window to complete a safe grapple and boost.
- If LINK is stabilized and succeeds in capture, it would be the first commercial robotic craft to service a government satellite not designed for on‑orbit servicing and could reshape how aging spacecraft are maintained.