NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have abandoned the central objective of a rushed mission to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from orbital decay, according to Ars Technica and Engadget. The plan was for Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft to reach Swift, dock with it, and raise its orbit high enough to avoid a looming atmospheric re-entry. That boost will no longer happen. Both outlets report that the decision follows unresolved attitude-control problems on LINK, the spacecraft Katalyst built for the Swift Boost mission. Engadget says NASA announced that LINK will no longer dock with Swift or tug it to a higher altitude. Ars Technica reports that NASA and Katalyst said Wednesday they are giving up on the robotic rescue mission. The consequence is direct: without the boost, Swift is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up later this year, according to both reports. Swift, launched in 2004, was built to study gamma-ray bursts, and Engadget notes that astronomers now use it for other rapid-response observations of sudden cosmic events as well. LINK launched in early July, with Ars specifying a July 3 launch. The spacecraft was meant to fly to Swift, capture it with three robotic arms, and use xenon-fueled electric thrusters to lift the observatory into a safer orbit. Ars reports that NASA awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract less than a year ago, giving the startup an unusually tight window to build and launch a first-of-its-kind rescue vehicle before Swift’s orbit decayed too far. The technical failure appears to center on orientation control. Engadget reports that LINK began having trouble managing its attitude in late July, leading to uncontrolled spinning and sporadic communications, along with some loss of thruster functionality. Ars adds more detail: two of LINK’s three reaction wheels stopped working, and the spacecraft also had problems with cold-gas thrusters used for fine pointing. NASA and Katalyst are not treating the spacecraft as a total loss. Engadget reports LINK will still attempt a rendezvous with Swift to gather data for future satellite-servicing work. Ars is more cautious on the remaining milestones, reporting that the spacecraft is still alive and may get close enough to demonstrate its close-in navigation system. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the mission as a calculated risk rather than a conventional program failure, according to both outlets. Ars quotes him saying NASA should move quickly and take “smart risks” when the return is worth it, while Engadget quotes him saying the team moved quickly to give Swift a chance to keep doing science and to advance satellite-servicing capabilities. The mission’s short timeline is central to the story. Ars reports that Katalyst built and launched LINK in nine months, far faster than the several years usually required for a first-of-its-kind satellite. Engadget similarly describes the effort as a high-risk, high-reward attempt with very little time to rescue an observatory whose orbit has been decaying rapidly because of increased solar activity in recent years. What remains is a partial technology demonstration rather than a rescue. NASA, according to Engadget, says it will prioritize finding new ways to react rapidly to cosmic events and will use current missions to help fill the gap for now. Katalyst, according to Ars, says it will try to extract technical and operational value from LINK and use the lessons to inform future rendezvous, proximity-operations, and satellite-servicing work. Who benefits: Future satellite-servicing teams may benefit if LINK’s remaining close-approach or rendezvous operations generate usable data. NASA may also gain practical lessons about how much risk a compressed rescue timeline can absorb. Who's exposed: Researchers relying on Swift for rapid observations of sudden cosmic events are exposed to the observatory’s expected loss later this year. Katalyst is also exposed, because the mission will be judged on what technical value it can still recover after missing its primary objective.