NASA’s First Private Observatory-Boosting Mission Hits a Control Crisis

Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft, launched to grab NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and raise it to a higher orbit, is now tumbling out of control, NASA and the company said. According to NASA, two of the spacecraft’s three reaction wheels have failed, and one thruster system is also having problems. The tumbling is making communications difficult because the spacecraft’s antenna keeps flipping away from Earth.

The mission is notable because it is the first time NASA has hired a private company to raise one of its observatories to a higher orbit. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory launched in 2004 and was designed to quickly point at short-lived space events such as gamma ray bursts. It has been pulled closer to Earth and needs a boost to keep operating beyond its expected lifespan.

Flight controllers are trying to recover LINK by using another set of thrusters to slow its spin. Katalyst said it has already begun the burn sequence and is seeing the intended effect. The spacecraft was launched July 3 aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket and had been in commissioning before its planned rendezvous with Swift.

Katalyst’s chief engineer for the mission, Kieran Wilson, had described the effort as challenging and risky before launch, citing the fast build timeline driven by the urgent need to raise Swift in the next few months. TechCrunch reports that Katalyst raised a $12 million round in June to support the mission, with backing from Fortitude Ventures and Geodesic Capital. The company has also received U.S. military funding tied to interest in vehicles that can service satellites or surveil rival spacecraft.