NASA has abandoned its attempt to save its aging Swift space telescope, which will instead re-enter the Earth's atmosphere later this year due to problems with a rescue spacecraft called Link. NASA had spent $30 million on the mission to boost Swift to a safer orbit, but intense solar activity and issues with controlling Link caused it to lose altitude faster than expected. The rescue attempt was cancelled after more than a month of trying, with the telescope currently in an orbit 345 kilometers high, and its demise is not expected before October. The failure of this mission may also impact plans to save NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which is also experiencing a loss of altitude due to solar activity.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
NASA's plan to save a falling satellite has been scrapped due to technical issues with the rescue spacecraft, known as Link, which was launched in early July by Katalyst Space. The mission aimed to capture NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which has been slowly falling out of orbit and will eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere, and boost its orbit to extend its lifespan. However, Link suffered control issues after launch, causing it to spin uncontrollably and lose communication with the vehicle. Despite efforts by NASA and Katalyst to troubleshoot the problems, they were unable to resolve the issues, leading to a loss of $30 million in funding from NASA. As a result, the Swift Observatory will now plummet into Earth's atmosphere later this year, bringing an end to its 21-year mission studying gamma-ray bursts and other powerful cosmic explosions.
Written for “NASA Space Telescope Issue” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1846 · logged 2026-08-28
NASA will no longer attempt to save its aging Swift space telescope
asserted
NASA → attempt → telescope
NASA has spent $30 million US to try to raise the telescope to a longer-lasting orbit
The mission to save NASA’s sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery re-entry later this year.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies announced the news more than a month after the startup’s Link spacecraft rocketed away to the telescope’s rescue.
Katalyst said Link will not attempt to capture Swift and boost it to a higher orbit because of problems with controlling the spacecraft.
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Link → spend → spacecraft
said this means the telescope will plunge through the atmosphere after more than 20 years of tracking some of the biggest explosions in the universe like gamma ray bursts and exploding stars.
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telescope → say → bursts
Its demise is not expected before October.
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demise → expect → October
NASA paid $30 million US to Katalyst in an attempt to raise the telescope to a safer, longer-lasting orbit.
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NASA → pay → orbit
Intense solar activity caused it to lose altitude faster than expected.
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it → cause → altitude
The rescue spacecraft went into an uncontrollable spin a few weeks after its liftoff in early July.
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spacecraft → go → July
While flight controllers managed to slow Link’s tumble, issues continued to plague its pointing and positioning in orbit.
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issues → manage → orbit
“This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.
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Isaacman → work → statement
As a consolation prize, Katalyst will continue to operate Link in proximity with the telescope to demonstrate capabilities for future rescue operations.
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Katalyst → continue → operations
Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee said it was an ambitious mission on an aggressive timeline that was thrown together in under a year.
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that → say → year
“We took on this high-risk, high-reward challenge and are proud of the milestones we reached along the way,” Lee said in a statement.
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Lee → take → statement
“We have already learned a tremendous amount.”
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We → learn → amount
Launched in 2004, Swift’s science instruments were turned off earlier this year to slow its descent.
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instruments → launch → descent
It was orbiting 345 kilometres high as of Wednesday.
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It → orbit → Wednesday
Katalyst had hoped to lift the telescope back to its original orbit of 600 kilometres, allowing for many more years of cosmic observations.
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Katalyst → hop → observations
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope could benefit from an orbital boost and had been next in line for a rescue attempt had this mission gone well.
uncertain
mission → benefit → attempt
The 36-year-old Hubble is also dropping in orbit because of all the sun’s recent outbursts.
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Hubble → drop → outbursts
It wasn’t immediately known whether Hubble is now out of luck.
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Hubble → know → luck
