NASA's Swift Observatory to Get Orbit Boost

A first‑of‑its‑kind mission to raise the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is slated to launch no earlier than Thursday, July 2 at 5:09 a.m. EDT (9:09 p.m. UTC+12) from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The launch will deploy a robotic servicing spacecraft named LINK, built by Katalyst Space, which will rendezvous with Swift and use a robotic arm to secure a new propulsion module that will boost the telescope’s altitude and extend its operational life.

The Swift Observatory, launched in 2004, has been a workhorse for detecting gamma‑ray bursts and studying high‑energy astrophysical phenomena. By raising its orbit, the LINK mission will reduce atmospheric drag and allow the spacecraft to continue observations for several more years, potentially until 2027. The successful deployment of the propulsion module will also demonstrate a new class of on‑orbit servicing capabilities that could be applied to future space telescopes and deep‑space missions.