Mission to Save Falling NASA Space Telescope Has Taken a Turn

By Rachel Zhang

The Swift Observatory needed a boost, and NASA was searching for a fast, cost-effective way to save it. Katalyst won the contract and developed Link in just a few months. The mission was progressing smoothly until contact with the Link spacecraft was suddenly lost. Despite this setback, scientists haven’t given up and are actively working to restore communication.

Towards the end of 2024, the peak of the sun’s 11-year sunspot cycle was stronger than anticipated, shooting out more solar flares.This caused the Earth’s upper atmosphere to puff outwards and slow the satellite down. NASA realized the potential danger of losing SWIFT and sought proposals from companies it thought could quickly come up with inexpensive ideas for the SWIFT rescue mission. Katalyst won, and Link was built.

The Link mission is now facing some setbacks. For a $30 million project, Katalyst did not have the resources for continuous round-the-clock communications with its spacecraft. However, the loss of contact was way longer than normal. Through the few strands of data that came in, it showed that Link was spinning very fast. Furthermore, Link’s three reaction wheels were not working, and the reaction control thrusters were operating inconsistently. “Over the last 48 hours, the Katalyst team has worked to reduce Link’s rotation while assessing current spacecraft functionality and its control system,” Katalyst representatives wrote.

Although some systems in Link were not working properly, the main propulsion system is working completely fine. These electric thrusters can be turned around and are now pointed in a direction to slow Link’s spin. Some other systems like the communication radios and the three robotic arms that are to grab Swift, also appear to be unaffected. Although the Katalyst and NASA engineers still do not know what exactly went wrong during the blackouts, after a couple of days as Link’s spin slows, a channel will send data showing what happened during the blackouts.

Katalyst engineers have not given up yet and hope they can revive the reaction wheels and the gas thrusters. However, if that does not work, the electric propulsion system can always serve as a substitute.