NASA hires Katalyst to boost Swift Observatory to higher orbit with robotic spacecraft

NASA is racing against time to prevent the Swift Observatory—a space telescope that has been hunting gamma-ray bursts since 2004—from falling back to Earth. The telescope's orbit has decayed faster than expected due to recent intense solar activity, putting it at risk of burning up in the atmosphere. To save it, NASA has hired start-up Katalyst Space Technologies for a $30 million salvage mission. Katalyst's three-armed robotic spacecraft will launch as early as Tuesday from an atoll in the Marshall Islands aboard a plane-launched Pegasus rocket. Once in orbit, the robot will chase down Swift and boost it to a higher, more stable altitude, extending its operational life.

The mission is not just about Swift. Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee said the company's next-generation robot, still in development, could also be used to save the Hubble Space Telescope, which is experiencing similar orbital decay. Hubble, like Swift, is losing altitude as solar flares continue to heat and expand the upper atmosphere. If successful, this salvage operation could demonstrate a cost-effective way to extend the life of aging satellites and telescopes, potentially saving billions of dollars in replacement costs. The launch window opens Tuesday, and NASA is hopeful the robotic lifeguard will reach Swift before it's too late.