# Link satellite

Type: Product

Source: GetYourBrief — https://getyourbrief.com/entity/link-satellite
Canonical HTML page: https://getyourbrief.com/entity/link-satellite

## Timeline

- **2026-07-28**: Anomaly publicly disclosed — Katalyst Space Technologies announces the thruster issue and spin, stating that the mission remains active and a viable path to rendezvous exists.
- **2026-07-28**: Anomaly Publicly Disclosed — Katalyst announces the issue, stating the mission remains active and expressing confidence in a recovery path.
- **2026-07-25**: Thruster anomaly occurs — Over the weekend, Link experiences thruster problems, enters an uncontrollable spin, and communication becomes disrupted.
- **2026-07-25**: Thruster Malfunction — Link experiences a thruster problem, sending it into an uncontrolled spin that disrupts communications and threatens the mission.
- **2026-07-07**: Link satellite launched — The three-armed robotic spacecraft Link blasts into orbit, roughly three weeks before the anomaly.
- **2026-07-05**: Link Satellite Launch — Katalyst Space Technologies launches the Link rescue vehicle on a rapid timeline, roughly three weeks before the anomaly.
- **2025**: Orbital Decay Accelerates — Increased solar activity early in the solar cycle causes atmospheric expansion, dragging Swift down faster than predicted.
- **2004**: Swift Observatory Launched — NASA sends the Swift gamma-ray burst telescope into orbit for a mission expected to last years; it becomes a premier instrument for high-energy astrophysics.

## Recent coverage (2 stories, network-wide)

### $30M Salvage Mission for 20-Year-Old Swift Telescope Imperiled by Satellite Spin
2026-08-01 19:23:40 · Sector: space · Sentiment: Negative · Impact: 6/10 · Sources: 3

Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link satellite has entered an uncontrolled spin after a thruster failure, jeopardizing the $30 million NASA-funded effort to boost the aging Swift Observatory. The 2004-launched telescope faces an autumn reentry if the startup cannot regain control soon.
Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/30m-swift-rescue-mission-link-spin-anomaly

### $30M NASA Rescue Mission Hits Thruster Snag as Startup Scrambles
2026-07-29 00:35:16 · Sector: startups · Sentiment: Negative · Impact: 6/10 · Sources: 6

Katalyst Space Technologies, a startup on a $30M NASA contract to save the Swift telescope, faces a critical thruster failure that sent its Link satellite into an uncontrolled spin. The company insists a recovery is still possible, but the clock is ticking. This high-risk, fixed-price mission tests the startup model for deep-space rescue services.
Full story: https://getstartupbrief.com/story/katalyst-space-link-thruster-failure-30m-nasa-mission

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