Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
After more than two decades, the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has entered a phase of rapid decay. While NASA could allow the observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the ends of their lifetimes, this situation has presented an opportunity to advance American spacecraft servicing technology while also extending the life of a productive science mission. To accomplish this, NASA awarded the U.S. company Katalyst Space a contract in September 2025 to attempt to raise Swift’s orbit.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Katalyst Space/Northrop Grumman
Music credits:
“All or Nothing,” Max Cameron Concors [ASCAP], Universal Production Music
“Time to Rise,” Charles Maurice Blunt [ASCAP], Steve Joseph Samson [SOCAN], and Andi Vax [PRS], Universal Production Music
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS) Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Public affairs officer: Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC)
Editor: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Science Writer: Jeanette Kazmierczak (University of Maryland College Park)
Scientists: Regina Caputo (NASA/GSFC), Brad Cenko (NASA/GSFC)
This video can be freely shared and downloaded at svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/15051. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/15051. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/.
If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel: youtube.com/NASAGoddard
Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
· Instagram: instagram.com/nasagoddard
· X: twitter.com/NASAGoddard
· Facebook: facebook.com/NASAGoddard
· Flickr: flickr.com/photos/gsfc
After more than two decades, the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has entered a phase of rapid decay. While NASA could allow the observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the ends of their lifetimes, this situation has presented an opportunity to advance American spacecraft servicing technology while also extending the life of a productive science mission. To accomplish this, NASA awarded the U.S. company Katalyst Space a contract in September 2025 to attempt to raise Swift’s orbit.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Katalyst Space/Northrop Grumman
Music credits:
“All or Nothing,” Max Cameron Concors [ASCAP], Universal Production Music
“Time to Rise,” Charles Maurice Blunt [ASCAP], Steve Joseph Samson [SOCAN], and Andi Vax [PRS], Universal Production Music
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS) Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Public affairs officer: Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC)
Editor: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Science Writer: Jeanette Kazmierczak (University of Maryland College Park)
Scientists: Regina Caputo (NASA/GSFC), Brad Cenko (NASA/GSFC)
This video can be freely shared and downloaded at svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/15051. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/15051. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/.
If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel: youtube.com/NASAGoddard
Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
· Instagram: instagram.com/nasagoddard
· X: twitter.com/NASAGoddard
· Facebook: facebook.com/NASAGoddard
· Flickr: flickr.com/photos/gsfc
