A mission to extend the life of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is poised for liftoff no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, at 6:23 a.m. EDT. The Pegasus rocket will launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, carrying a payload named LINK designed to perform a months-long orbit boost.
Swift, launched in 2004, has been gradually losing altitude due to atmospheric drag. The LINK payload will use small thrusters to raise the spacecraft's orbit, potentially extending its operational life by several years. This approach—using a dedicated tug to reboost an existing satellite—is a novel application of on-orbit servicing technology.
All pre-launch checks are complete, according to NASA. The launch window opens on the 30th, with no announced delays. The full mission duration, from launch through the completion of orbit raising, is expected to take several months.
Swift is primarily a gamma-ray burst hunter, but its X-ray and ultraviolet/optical telescopes have been vital across astrophysics. Reboosting it would allow continued observations of transient cosmic events and multiwavelength follow-ups, filling a gap until next-generation observatories come online.
Some experts question whether the cost of a dedicated Pegasus launch and the LINK tug is justified for a telescope that has already far exceeded its original design life. Even with a reboost, Swift's aging instruments could fail at any time, potentially limiting the return on investment.