NASA Delays $30 Million Swift Rescue Launch After Pegasus Rocket Issue

3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Jul 2

Northrop Grumman's Stargazer aircraft took off from Kwajalein Atoll, but a launch-vehicle problem stopped teams from deploying the Pegasus XL rocket, leaving a new launch date pending.
The delay hit after two weather postponements and interrupts NASA's Swift Boost mission, which would send Katalyst Space's LINK satellite to intercept the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory before its orbit decays further.
LINK would become the first private spacecraft to attempt capture of an uncrewed U.S. government satellite, using three robotic arms and then ion thrusters to raise Swift over several months.
Swift, a $500 million observatory launched in 2004, is being targeted because solar-driven atmospheric drag is pulling it down; restoring it to about 373 miles could extend its life by years.