NASA Backs Private Mission to Raise Swift Telescope's Orbit Before Reentry Risk Grows

NASA Startup Ready for Robotic Mission to Prolong Life of Swift Space Telescope

NASA is planning to try something that has never been done before: A robotic mission to extend the life of the ageing Swift space telescope, which is slowly losing altitude due to increased solar activity.

The mission, created in partnership with startup Katalyst Space Technologies, aims to lift the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbit before atmospheric drag pulls the spacecraft back to Earth. The mission could launch in days, depending on final preparations and weather, officials said.

Swift was launched in 2004 to discover gamma-ray bursts and other short-lived cosmic events. The telescope has been critical in studying exploding stars, black holes and other energetic phenomena throughout the universe.

It’s dropping at a faster rate than anticipated due to increased atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit due to increased solar activity recently. NASA has powered down instruments and paused scientific observations to slow the spacecraft’s orbital decay.

Once deployed, Katalyst’s autonomous servicing spacecraft, Lift, will meet up with Swift. It carries three robotic arms and is designed to capture the telescope and raise its orbit slowly to a safer altitude so that scientific operations can continue.

According to company officials, the rendezvous process could take a month or so, with weeks of orbital adjustments.

The mission is a big test of commercial satellite servicing technology. Other spacecraft docking and servicing missions have been attempted, but NASA officials say the operation would be an important step toward routine robotic maintenance of ageing satellites and observatories.

NASA awarded the contract to Katalyst in 2025, asking the company to develop a quick fix that would preserve the telescope without adding risk of damage.

“Many experts were sceptical that such a mission could be developed on a compressed schedule,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA’s acting astrophysics director.

NASA science leaders say it’s still worth saving Swift because the observatory still has unique capabilities. The spacecraft is able to quickly reorient to observe newly detected cosmic events, making it a valuable partner for current and future observatories.

If the servicing mission is successful, Swift could help support observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, officials say.

The project could also inform future efforts to extend the lives of other ageing spacecraft. Katalyst officials say the same technology could eventually help larger observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope, although NASA has not yet approved any such mission.

For NASA, Swift is a bid to preserve a valuable scientific asset and a test of whether commercial robotic servicing can become a practical tool for maintaining spacecraft already in orbit.