{
  "id": 2012231,
  "title": "Private mission to save NASA's Swift space telescope fails",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/private-mission-to-save-nasas-swift-space-telescope-fails",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-19T20:15:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Space.com",
    "slug": "space-com",
    "url": "https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/private-mission-to-save-nasas-swift-space-telescope-fails"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "NASA has decided to abandon its plan to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory using a private spacecraft. The private probe, LINK, designed and built by Katalyst Space, failed to perform its task of raising the Swift Observatory to a more stable orbit. LINK, launched on July 3 from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, began spinning uncontrollably three weeks after launch, which led to its cancellation. Despite the failure, NASA still plans to use LINK for other purposes. The $30 million mission, initiated due to the faster-than-anticipated decay of Swift's orbit, aimed to demonstrate proximity operations and show the potential of satellite servicing. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted that while the desired outcome wasn't achieved, the mission was still worth attempting as it provided valuable experience for future satellite servicing. With the private spacecraft unable to save Swift, the observatory is now expected to rapidly descend into Earth's atmosphere by the end of the year.",
  "summary": "A private spacecraft tasked with boosting the orbit of NASA's Swift Observatory has failed in its mission, meaning the telescope will crash back to Earth later this year.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}