NASA Swift Boost Spacecraft Prepares to Continue Mission

Katalyst Space successfully uploaded a flight software update for its LINK spacecraft, which is set to boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbit. The software update’s new attitude control algorithms are designed to maintain LINK’s stability using the spacecraft’s remaining actuators.

The team’s work has prepared LINK to continue its approach toward Swift, before attempting to capture and raise Swift to a higher orbital altitude. Katalyst will continue to work closely with NASA, evaluating LINK’s performance at each phase, as the team performs a series of burns and maneuvers in the coming days to align LINK’s orbit with Swift.

In the meantime, the Swift team continues with its innovative new approach to operating the observatory, which has successfully reduced drag and slowed Swift’s orbital decay. Swift is currently at an altitude of about 216 miles (347 kilometers). An orbit-raising maneuver would become more difficult below an average altitude of about 185 miles (300 kilometers).  

Learn more from Katalyst, and monitor NASA’s Swift blog for continued updates:  

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift