Above our heads, a race against time has just begun to save a pioneer of astronomy. This operation, which mobilizes a small private company and a rocket launched from an airplane, could redefine how we maintain our fleet of scientific satellites.
NASA's Swift space observatory, in service since 2004, is now in peril. Its orbit is decaying rapidly, threatening it with atmospheric re-entry by the end of 2026. Having no propulsion system of its own, it cannot maintain its orbit alone. The devised solution is therefore highly ingenious and could herald an era where in-orbit assistance becomes a common practice to extend the life of space missions.
The rocket attached under the belly of its carrier aircraft A bold technical operation for an unprecedented capture
The rescue plan is as follows: a robotic space vehicle, developed by the company Katalyst Space Technologies, will be launched from an airplane. This company has secured a $30 million contract from NASA for this mission. The vehicle's task will be to locate Swift, approach it, and then physically dock with it. For this delicate maneuver, it is equipped with a special feature: three specially designed robotic arms.
The docking nonetheless represents the riskiest phase of the operation, because Swift was never designed to be caught or repaired in orbit. Its exterior, its instruments, and its orientation – its sensitive optics must never be pointed at Earth or the Sun – all pose difficulties. Engineers had to rely on archive photos to identify the only possible grapple points on the two-decade-old satellite's structure.
If the capture succeeds, the vehicle will then begin the towing phase. It will use its own thrusters to gradually raise the observatory back to its initial altitude of approximately 370 miles (about 600 km). This maneuver should thus allow Swift to continue its scientific observations for at least another ten years, preserving a major scientific investment estimated at half a billion dollars.
Air launch: The key to meeting the urgency
The extremely tight schedule demands a launch no later than June 2026. To meet it, the choice of launch vehicle was crucial. Katalyst thus turned to Northrop Grumman's Pegasus XL rocket, whose main asset is its air-launch mode. The principle: the rocket is carried under the belly of an L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, then released at an altitude of 39,000 feet (about 12,000 meters) before igniting its engine.
This method offers significant operational flexibility. It is indeed necessary to reach Swift's precise inclined orbit, which most conventional ground-launched rockets have difficulty reaching economically. The Pegasus flight profile provides precisely the right trajectory for efficient orbital rendezvous. It is therefore these particular strengths that determined the partners' choice for this mission.
Ultimately, this operation also aims to demonstrate a new approach to space logistics. If successful, it would set a major precedent: it would be the first time a government satellite not designed for maintenance is captured and re-boosted by a commercial vehicle. Such rapid response capability would pave the way for life-extension, maintenance, or deorbiting services for a wide range of low-Earth orbit satellites.
Article Author: Cédric DEPOND