{"data":{"id":1869,"lang":"en","title":"NASA Launches First-Ever Commercial Robot Mission to Rescue Decaying Swift Observatory","summary":"NASA and startup Katalyst Space Technologies are launching a $30 million robotic mission to boost the decaying Swift Observatory back into a safe orbit — a historic first for commercial satellite servicing.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-06-21T14:03:15Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T14:03:15Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1869-nasa-launches-first-ever-commercial-robot-mission-to-rescue-decaying-swift","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1869?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1869.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://img.republicworld.com/all_images/2026/06/nasa-plans-daring-rescue-mission-to-save-swift-observatory-telescope-from-falling-out-of-space-1781925231668-1280x720.webp","word_count":197,"reading_time_minutes":1,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.republicworld.com/science/space/nasa-plans-daring-rescue-mission-to-save-swift-observatory-telescope-from-falling-out-of-space-2026-06-20-129137","domain":"republicworld.com"},{"url":"https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/katalyst-space-technologies-swift-observatory-rescue-mission-pegasus-rocket","domain":"space.com"},{"url":"https://www.astronomy.com/science/swift-observatory-rescue-mission/","domain":"astronomy.com"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":1942,"title":"NASA vysílá první komerční robotickou misi na záchranu observatoře Swift, která ztrácí výšku oběžné dráhy","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1942-nasa-vysila-prvni-komercni-robotickou-misi-na-zachranu-observatore-swift-ktera","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1942?lang=cs"},"content":"NASA is attempting to save one of its most productive space observatories from an uncontrolled reentry. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, launched in 2004 to detect gamma-ray bursts — the universe's most powerful explosions — has been steadily losing altitude due to atmospheric drag amplified by heightened solar activity, falling from its initial 373-mile orbit to roughly 249 miles. Without intervention, Swift faces a 50% chance of reentry by mid-2026 and 90% by year-end.\n\nIn an unprecedented move, NASA awarded Arizona-based startup Katalyst Space Technologies a $30 million contract to build a robotic rescue craft called LINK. Launching aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket — air-deployed from a Stargazer aircraft at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility — LINK will autonomously rendezvous with Swift, attach to it, and fire Hall-effect thrusters to push the observatory into a safer, higher orbit. Swift was never equipped with its own propulsion system, making it entirely dependent on the rescue craft.\n\nIf successful, this will mark the first time a privately developed robotic spacecraft has autonomously docked with and repositioned an operational U.S. government science satellite not originally designed for servicing. NASA officials have called it \"a fast-paced, high-risk mission with no room for major delays.\""}}