On The Space Show for Wednesday, 1 July 2026:
Swift Boost Mission
Plans to launch the LINK satellite to reboost the Swift astrophysics satellite into a higher orbit. Launch delayed until tomorrow. (Inserts courtesy GSFC)
NASA has contracted Katalyst Space of Flagstaff, Arizona, to boost the altitude of its sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Swift is NASA’s astrophysics multitool, capable of quickly observing a wide range of cosmic objects in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light.
A first-of-its-kind mission, a robotic servicing spacecraft called LINK, built by Katalyst Space, will launch into orbit aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket attached to the belly of the company’s Stargazer aircraft.
After launch, LINK will attempt to rendezvous with, grapple, and slowly raise Swift’s altitude over several months, preventing it from re-entering Earth’s atmosphere later this year. If this daring mission is successful, it will be the first time a commercial robotic mission has captured a NASA spacecraft that is both uncrewed and not originally designed for servicing in space.
Swift observations:
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is a satellite that studies gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, and other cosmic objects and events. Swift houses three multi-wavelength telescopes, collecting data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light.
* The Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
* Black hole snack attack
Turn Back Time: Proton 3 satellite
The 60th anniversary of the launch of the Soviet Union's Proton 3 scientific satellite by the new Proton launch vehicle. (Insert courtesy VOA)
The Karman Project: Building a cooperative future in space – Part 2
The views of Ke Wang (Co-founder & Operations Director, The Karman Project) and Rogel Mari Sese (Astrophysicist, The Philippines).
Listen to The Karman Project - The Space That Makes Us Human here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wPiS151Xuz2RKTWlhSg4P
