Katalyst completes final ground testing of its Swift rescue spacecraft
Katalyst’s proposed Swift rescue mission.
Click for original image.
The orbital servicing startup Katalyst has now successfully completed the final ground testing of its Swift rescue spacecraft, dubbed LINK, that it hopes will be able to catch the Gehrels-Swift Telescope and raise its orbit, thus saving the telescope.
During vibration testing at NASA Goddard, engineers mimicked the shaking the spacecraft will experience during its launch from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket. In the footsteps of Swift itself and NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the Katalyst team also used NASA Goddard’s Space Environment Simulator for thermal vacuum testing.
Once the air was pumped out of this 27-foot-wide chamber, LINK experienced space-like hot and cold temperature extremes. The team also practiced firing the satellite’s three xenon-powered ion thrusters and deployed one of the arms.
After some more testing in Arizona, the spacecraft will be integrated in June onto Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket — the last one in its inventory — and launched later that month.
Katalyst has never done this before. It was preparing LINK as a demo mission when NASA requested bids for saving Swift. It proposed reconfiguring LINK for that purpose, and won the contract in September 2025, only eight months ago.
If this mission succeeds it will be a big feather in Katalyst’s cap.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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Katalyst’s proposed Swift rescue mission.
Click for original image.
The orbital servicing startup Katalyst has now successfully completed the final ground testing of its Swift rescue spacecraft, dubbed LINK, that it hopes will be able to catch the Gehrels-Swift Telescope and raise its orbit, thus saving the telescope.
During vibration testing at NASA Goddard, engineers mimicked the shaking the spacecraft will experience during its launch from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket. In the footsteps of Swift itself and NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the Katalyst team also used NASA Goddard’s Space Environment Simulator for thermal vacuum testing.
Once the air was pumped out of this 27-foot-wide chamber, LINK experienced space-like hot and cold temperature extremes. The team also practiced firing the satellite’s three xenon-powered ion thrusters and deployed one of the arms.
After some more testing in Arizona, the spacecraft will be integrated in June onto Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket — the last one in its inventory — and launched later that month.
Katalyst has never done this before. It was preparing LINK as a demo mission when NASA requested bids for saving Swift. It proposed reconfiguring LINK for that purpose, and won the contract in September 2025, only eight months ago.
If this mission succeeds it will be a big feather in Katalyst’s cap.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Does it have to look like a dirt dauber?
Other than the grappling gear bearing some resemblance to insect legs, “mud dauber” isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind while looking at that picture.
But, that aside, what, exactly, should the thing look like O Great Arbiter of How Things Should Be in Space?
At least these concepts have a bit of style;)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vEfatzhHhvg
I worry about the launch failing. Are they building more than one vehicle?
Jeff Wright,
They have a “bit of style” because they straddle the slightly fuzzy line between aircraft and spacecraft. Neither the Gehrels-Swift observatory nor its notional rescue craft are intended to be atmosphere skimmers so, as is so often the case, you have been distracted from the real issues by an entirely irrelevant passing squirrel.
Tom D,
A launch failure is certainly possible. But a second vehicle would not be possible on the allocated budget for this mission and, as the one and only vehicle built will be launching on the one and only remaining Pegasus rocket in existence, there would be no point in having a backup anyway. Work or fail, this is a one-and-done mission.
“But, that aside, what, exactly, should the thing look like O Great Arbiter of How Things Should Be in Space?”
“Could” indicates imagination: “would” indicates reason and logic (however well or poorly practiced): “should” indicates value-judgements. VJ’s made which encompass one’s self-esteem, sense-of-life – i.e., the contents of one’s soul!
I could have been taller if my mother and father would have been greater in height. Dam it, I should have been!
Aesthetics have a place.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-engaging-arts-linked-slower-aging.html
The most recent videos of Starlinks was inspiring–that appearance of soaring may reduce hostility towards mega-constellations.
Satellites are often lopsided affairs that look like a combination of Heathkits, dumpsters, CB antennas and washerboards.
Jeff Wright,
Aesthetics do have a place. But they are categorically outranked by functionality for any kind of spacecraft.
Still, you have conceptualized a new class of spacecraft – the prettysat. Perhaps you can find at least part-time employment as the spacecraft aesthetics critic for some media outlet or other.
That is Leo Laporte’s gig in some ways
I miss Computer Chronicles… Stewart Cheifet died recently.
Good news for techies
https://hackaday.com/2026/05/12/another-gift-to-the-world-from-cern-their-entire-set-of-kicad-libraries/
Charles Vick used to do space drawings…I have no idea what happened to him.