The rescue satellite came so close to Swift, yet remained too far away

The rescue spacecraft came within 15 kilometers of NASA’s Swift telescope, photographed it and collected valuable data. But Link could not do the one thing the mission was designed for: push the aging observatory into a higher, more stable orbit.

The private spacecraft ran into trouble soon after its launch in July, when it began spinning uncontrollably. Engineers eventually brought it under control, but the maneuver used much of its fuel. NASA then had little choice but to cancel the rescue operation.

“We were so close, yet so far away,” Katalyst Space Technologies chief executive Ghonhee Lee told the Associated Press. He said the company still learned as much as possible from the attempt and gained practice for future servicing missions in space.

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We were so close, yet so far away.

Lee blamed the spacecraft’s problems on the rush to prepare it for flight. The mission came together in only nine months, he said, and engineers often had to use whatever parts were available rather than wait for the correct components. NASA paid the company $30 million for the mission.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But these are exactly the kinds of missions we need to carry out at NASA,” NASA director Jared Isaacman said. He argued that extending the life of valuable spacecraft can make sense when rescue costs less than replacement. Swift, launched in 2004, will orbit Earth for only a few more months and is expected to fall into the atmosphere between October and the end of the year. NASA recently resumed observations after suspending them earlier this year to conserve energy. Katalyst is already developing a next-generation spacecraft that could raise the 36-year-old Hubble Space Telescope to a higher orbit.

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Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. But these are exactly the kinds of missions we need to carry out at NASA.