NASA Swift Boost Mission scrubs June 30 launch of Katalyst Space LINK robotic telescope-servicer due to weather

The launch of Katalyst Space's LINK robotic servicing spacecraft, built to boost the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, was postponed Tuesday due to unfavorable weather conditions, NASA said. The scrub occurred on June 30, 2026, the original target date for the air-launched mission from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The next launch attempt is targeted for no earlier than Wednesday, July 1, at 9:43 p.m. UTC+12 (5:43 a.m. EDT), on Northrop Grumman's Pegasus XL rocket, NASA said in a blog post by Alise Fisher and Jeanette Kazmierczak. The LINK spacecraft is designed to rendezvous with Swift and raise its decaying orbit, extending the observatory's operational life. Swift, launched in 2004, studies gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic phenomena. NASA said the delay was driven by weather conditions over the Pacific launch range and urged the public to monitor its Swift blog for updates.