# Pegasus XL

Type: Product

Source: GetYourBrief — https://getyourbrief.com/entity/pegasus-xl
Canonical HTML page: https://getyourbrief.com/entity/pegasus-xl

## Timeline

- **2026-08-19**: Rescue mission abandoned — NASA announces ongoing LINK attitude control system problems will prevent it from capturing and boosting Swift; reentry expected later in 2026.
- **2026-07-06**: Mission in Progress — As of the article publication, Link is in orbit and beginning the weekslong process of rendezvous and preparation to boost Swift's altitude.
- **2026-07-03**: Launch from the Pacific — At 4:36 a.m. EDT, the Pegasus XL is dropped from the L-1011 at 41,000 feet and ignites, placing the Link satellite into orbit to begin its pursuit of Swift.
- **2026-07-03**: LINK launches on Pegasus XL — Katalyst's LINK servicing spacecraft launches on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket to attempt an orbit boost for Swift.
- **2026-06**: Satellite Integration and Transport — The Link satellite is encapsulated in the Pegasus XL payload fairing at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, then flown aboard an L-1011 to Kwajalein Atoll.
- **2026**: Swift reentry expected — NASA expects Swift to reenter Earth's atmosphere later in 2026 as end-of-life planning continues.
- **2025-09**: NASA Awards Rescue Contract — NASA selects Katalyst Space Technologies from a competitive field to build and launch a satellite to boost the Swift observatory’s orbit.
- **2025-09**: $30M servicing contract awarded — NASA awards Katalyst Space Technologies a $30 million contract to develop and launch a robotic servicing mission for Swift in less than a year.
- **2004**: Swift launch — NASA launches the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to study gamma-ray bursts and transient cosmic phenomena.

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

### NASA Ends Swift Rescue: $30M Servicing Demo Fails in Orbit
2026-08-20 01:15:32 · Sector: space · Sentiment: Negative · Impact: 7/10 · Sources: 2

NASA's $30M bid to extend the life of the Swift gamma-ray telescope ended when Katalyst's LINK servicing craft could not overcome attitude-control failures in a 216-mile orbit, leaving a gap in rapid-response astrophysics and testing confidence in orbital servicing startups.
Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/nasa-ends-swift-rescue-30m-servicing-demo-fails

### From Contract to Orbit in 9 Months: Katalyst Launches Swift Rescue
2026-07-06 21:00:06 · Sector: space · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 6/10 · Sources: 2

NASA’s Swift observatory, facing imminent orbital decay, gets a lifeline as Katalyst’s Link satellite launches after a record nine-month development. The mission pioneers commercial satellite life extension for a government science asset.
Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/katalyst-link-swift-rescue-9-months

---
This page is a machine-readable summary. Sentiment measures the directional read of each development for this entity, not the tone of the reporting; impact weights consequence, not syndication reach. See https://getyourbrief.com/guides/methodology for the full editorial methodology.