NASA โขContracts Katalyst for Innovative โคSwift Spacecraft Orbit Boost
WASHINGTON – NASA has awarded a $30 million contractโ to Katalyst โคspace Technologies to attempt anโ orbit boost โfor the Swift Spacecraft, extending the life of the valuable space telescope.The initiative โขrepresents a cost-effective choice to launching aโ new mission with comparable capabilities.
swift plays a crucial role in NASA’s network of space telescopes, specializing in the study of high-energy eventsโ in the universe. โคIt acts as a “dispatcher,” quickly identifying transient cosmic events – such as explodingโ stars, stellar flares, and active galacticโ eruptions – โขand relaying information to otherโฃ missions for more detailed examination. For over two decades, Swift has provided key insights โขinto these phenomena, and also comets, asteroids, and even โhigh-energy lightning on Earth.
The orbit of Swift is naturally decaying, necessitatingโ intervention to maintain its operational altitude.โค Rather then developing aโ solutionโ from scratch, โNASA is leveraging existing commercial technologies through โits Small Businessโค Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, managed by the โSpace technology โคmission Directorate. โThis Phase III award builds on Katalyst’s prior participation in theโฃ SBIR program, allowingโฃ for a faster advancementโค timeline thanโ traditional methods.
“By leveraging commercial โคtechnologies that are already in development, we โขare meeting this challenge head-on,” stated Shawn Domagal-Goldman, โacting director โขof NASA’s Astrophysics Division. “This โคis a forward-leaning, risk-tolerant approach for NASA. But attempting an orbit boost is both more affordable than replacing Swift’s capabilities with a new โmission, and beneficial to the nation -โ expanding the useโ of satellite servicing toโค a new and โbroader class of spacecraft.”
Clayton turner, associate administrator of NASA’s Space technology โคMission Directorate, emphasized the importance of collaborationโค with the private sector. “America’s space economy is brimming with cutting-edge solutions, and opportunities like this allow NASA to tap into them โคfor real-world challenges,” he said. “Orbital decay is a common, natural occurrence for satellites, and this collaboration mayโข open the โขdoor to extending the life of more โฃspacecraft in the โfuture.”
The NASA SBIR program,part of America’s seed Fund,provides early-stage,non-dilutive funding to โsmall businessesโ (under 500 employees) to foster innovation and commercialization of technologies that benefit bothโ NASA missions and national challenges.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flightโค Center manages the Swiftโ mission, working with partners including Penn State, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Northropโค Grumman Space Systems, the UK Space Agency, University of Leicester, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Brera observatory, โand the Italian Space Agency.
More information about the Swift mission can beโค found at: โ https://www.nasa.gov/swift
