Katalyst Space’s Link spacecraft was recently installed on the Pegasus rocket that will launch it in late June on a mission to raise the orbit of NASA’s Swift gamma-ray observatory. Credit: NASA
WASHINGTON — A high-risk mission to raise the orbit of a NASA astrophysics spacecraft is set to launch later this month after less than a year of development.
Link, a spacecraft developed by Katalyst Space Technologies, is scheduled to launch June 27 on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket. The air-launched vehicle will operate out of Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
Link is designed to approach and then grapple NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a gamma-ray observatory in low Earth orbit. The orbit of that spacecraft, launched in 2004, has been decaying due to atmospheric drag and could reenter as soon as late this year. Link will raise Swift’s orbit, allowing it to continue operations for years to come.
NASA selected Katalyst last September to develop Link under a $30 million contract. While the reboost mission has yet to launch, officials said simply getting to this point was a success.
