NASA to Preview Katalyst Mission to Boost Swift's Orbit

An audio-only media teleconference will be held at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, June 17, to preview the Katalyst mission to boost the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft, LINK, will attempt to rendezvous with Swift and raise its altitude, extending the observatory’s science lifespan and advancing a key capability for the future of space exploration.

LINK is scheduled to launch later this month on Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Media planning to join by phone must RSVP to Amy Barra no later than two hours before the start of the call; audio of the teleconference will stream on the agency’s website.

Swift, launched in 2004, leads a fleet of telescopes that study rapid changes in the high-energy universe, such as gamma-ray bursts. After 21 years in orbit, Swift’s low Earth orbit has begun to rapidly decay because of increased solar activity, and rather than allowing re-entry, the agency is using the opportunity to advance U.S.

Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Atoll

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