Katalyst Integrates LINK Spacecraft Into Pegasus XL for Swift Orbit Boost Later This Month

3 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Jun 10

June 9 marked completion of LINK’s installation into a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, clearing the robotic servicing mission for a launch later this month.
Recent solar activity intensified atmospheric drag on the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, accelerating orbital decay and forcing NASA to seek a boost mission before the telescope drops too low.
Pegasus XL was chosen because Katalyst judged the air-launched rocket the best way to reach Swift in time; Northrop will use its Stargazer L-1011 aircraft for the launch campaign.
Stargazer will next ferry the rocket from Wallops to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where the mission will launch to raise Swift’s altitude and extend the observatory’s operations.

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