Partners, NASA Ready for June Launch to Boost Swift Observatory

A mission to raise the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is set to launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, 6:23 a.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. UTC+12) from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. A robotic servicing satellite called LINK, built by Katalyst Space, will ride a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL, rendezvous with Swift, grapple the observatory, and slowly raise its altitude over several months to prevent re-entry later this year.

“Swift is NASA’s multitool when it comes to studying the cosmos,” said S. Bradley Cenko, principal investigator for Swift. He noted the observatory uses a wide range of light and rapidly points at short-lived outbursts, alerting other facilities to coordinate follow-up observations, and that teams look forward to returning to that work after the boost is complete.

Orbital drag, recently amplified by increased solar activity, has accelerated Swift’s descent since its launch in November 2004.

Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Atoll

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