NASA Aborts Rescue for Aging Swift Telescope as Reentry Looms
NASA canceled its planned rescue of the aging Swift gamma-ray observatory after the LINK spacecraft suffered attitude-control failures; the mission would have used robotic arms to capture Swift and raise it to a safer orbit, but ongoing control-system problems forced cancellation. With Swift losing altitude due to atmospheric drag, reentry is expected before the end of 2026, while LINK will continue rendezvous demonstrations to inform future satellite-servicing efforts.