NASA's Swift Space Observatory Mission to Receive an Orbital Boost

NASA's Swift Space Observatory Mission to Receive an Orbital Boost

After more than two decades, the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has entered a phase of rapid decay. While NASA could allow the observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the ends of their lifetimes, this situation has presented an opportunity to advance American spacecraft servicing technology, while also extending the life of a productive science mission. To accomplish this, NASA awarded the U.S. company Katalyst Space a contract in September 2025 to attempt to raise the Swift obervatory's orbit.

Learn more about Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory:
https://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/

https://www.swift.psu.edu/

Video Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Katalyst Space/Northrop Grumman
Producer: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS) Scott Wiessinger (eMITS) 
Editor:  Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Science Writer: Jeanette Kazmierczak (University of Maryland College Park)
Scientists: Regina Caputo (NASA/GSFC), Brad Cenko (NASA/GSFC)
Duration: 1 minute
Date: June 17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #KatalystSpace #OrbitalBoostMissions #ServicingMissions #GammaRayBursts #GRB #GRBExplosions #BlackHoles #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #NeilGehrelsSwiftObservatory #NeilGehrelsSwiftMission #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video