Robotic spacecraft LINK arrives at Wallops for Swift boost mission

LINK, a robotic servicing spacecraft built by Katalyst Space to capture and boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, arrived at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Friday, June 5. At Wallops’ Horizontal Integration Facility, Northrop Grumman engineers will install the spacecraft into one of the company’s Pegasus XL rockets ahead of launch.

After loading LINK into the Pegasus XL, Northrop Grumman will attach the rocket to the bottom of Stargazer, the company’s modified L-1011 aircraft, which will deploy Pegasus XL from above Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific; the rocket will deliver LINK to an orbit where it can reach Swift.

All spacecraft in low Earth orbit experience drag caused by our planet’s atmosphere, and satellites without propulsion gradually lose altitude and can fall toward Earth. Recent increased solar activity magnified the impact of atmospheric drag on Swift, causing it to sink faster than anticipated.

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