NASA's Swift Observatory, launched in 2004, is falling out of orbit after recent solar storms degraded its altitude to 224 miles, and it could reenter Earth's atmosphere as early as this year. Swift carries no propulsion system, making self-correction impossible.
Katalyst Space Technologies launched its three-armed robotic servicing spacecraft, Link, on Friday with a single objective: intercept Swift and boost its orbit by roughly 150 miles. This is the first mission of its kind, a commercial spacecraft attempting to rescue an active NASA science asset with no docking port and no cooperative systems designed for servicing.
The full piece covers the technical specifics of how Link grapples an uncooperative satellite and the orbital mechanics involved in executing this kind of rendezvous. Read it for the engineering constraints, not just the mission status.
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