15 kilometers from NASA’s Swift Observatory, Katalyst Space’s Link spacecraft made a close approach last weekend and captured images more than a week after the rescue mission was abandoned.
Low fuel forced Link to turn away after controllers spent propellant stabilizing an uncontrollable spin that began soon after its July launch, leaving too little to raise Swift into a higher orbit.
NASA paid $30 million for the rushed nine-month mission, which Katalyst said relied on available parts; the company and NASA still treated the attempt as a useful test for future satellite servicing.
Swift, launched in 2004, has resumed observations but is expected to reenter between October and year-end as solar activity drags down its orbit; Link itself is likely to burn up within a month.
NASA says the failed attempt still supports a broader push to service aging spacecraft, and Katalyst is already developing a next-generation vehicle that could eventually boost the 36-year-old Hubble.