NASA ends Swift mission after servicing spacecraft fails to capture telescope

NASA has ended the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory mission after the private LINK spacecraft failed to capture the telescope and raise its orbit, UA.NEWS reported, citing Space.com. NASA expects Swift to reenter Earth's atmosphere in the coming weeks as atmospheric drag lowers its orbit. NASA awarded Katalyst Space Technologies a $30 million rescue contract in September 2025. LINK launched on July 3, but propulsion and orientation-control failures left it spinning and unable to capture Swift, despite approaching within 12-15 km. Swift collected its last scientific data on October 20. Its archive of observations across multiple wavelengths will remain available for research.