NASA and Katalyst Space have moved the Swift reboost mission into launch readiness, with the LINK servicing spacecraft set to lift the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory later this month from Kwajalein Atoll.
The mission uses Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL and follows a rapid development cycle after NASA awarded Katalyst the contract in September 2025. LINK is designed to rendezvous with Swift, capture it, and raise its altitude, extending the observatory’s science life while proving a robotic servicing capability the sector has not yet fielded at this scale.
If the launch holds, the campaign will become a live test of responsive on-orbit rescue, not just another deployment flight.