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Aug. 20 (UPI) — NASA and Katalyst Space have announced that the mission to boost the altitude of a Swift Observatory space telescope has failed.
The announcement came down on Wednesday after an attempt to use the LINK spacecraft ran into altitude control issues, NASA and Katalyst Space said in a press release. The spacecraft was meant to raise NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude.
LINK is still set to attempt rendezvous and proximity operations with the Swift Observatory.
“NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission,” Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, said in a statement. “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting.”
If the mission was successful, LINK would have allowed the Swift Observatory to extend its mission, the press release says. NASA expects Swift to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere this year.
The Swift mission launched in 2004. The observatory has been used to study gamma-ray bursts. While planned originally as a two-year prime mission, it has remained in operation in low Earth orbit for 21 years.
Increased solar activity has caused what NASA describes as a rapid “decay” of Swift’s low Earth Orbit.
The LINK spacecraft was launched on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket from Kawjalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, on July 3.
Katalyst designed and manufactured LINK in less than a year after being awarded a $30 million Swift Boost contract from NASA in 2025.
“We knew this was a high-risk, high-reward mission — a first-of-its kind attempt, developed on an unprecedented timeline driven by the Sun’s activity,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, said in a statement. “We were all hoping for more science from Swift. But we knew the takeaways from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained so much through the series of accomplishments up to this point.”
Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called Tuesday for elections in Ukraine, arguing that the suspension of democracy was incompatible with the country’s war goals. File photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA
Aug. 19 (UPI) — Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for elections in Ukraine, arguing that the war with Russia was not an excuse and that the suspension of democracy was incompatible with the goal of the war, which was freedom.
Fedorov said in a YouTube video Tuesday that as Ukraine grappled with the fundamental question of how a state should function if war lasts for years he was convinced that the answer was not to effectively give Russia a veto over when Ukrainians could exercise their democratic rights again.
“Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia. We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state. Therefore, we must find a legal, safe, and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amidst a prolonged war,” said Fedorov, who was dismissed as defense minister in July.
Fedorov, whose removal sparked protests across Ukraine, added that democracy was not a “peacetime luxury” but was part of “what we are fighting for today, saying that people could not “endlessly live in a state where they do not understand why certain decisions are made.”
Fedorov acknowleged the complexities of holding wartime elections, in particular guaranteeing the voting rights of military personnel, millions of Ukrainians living abroad. and of people living in regions on the frontline.
“We need to ensure the security of the electoral process, the independence of institutions, and trust in the outcome, he said, but stressed that complexity did not mean it could not be done.
“Ukraine has repeatedly done what the world considered impossible. We can find a solution here as well,” said Fedorov.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree imposing martial law in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country, suspending certain fundamental rights and processes, including elections.
Zelensky’s five-year term expired more than two years in May 2024, but elections cannot be held while martial law remains in effect, according to the constitution.
In December, Zelensky held up the prospect of holding elections within the next three months in response to allegations by U.S. President Donald Trump that his administration was using the war as an excuse to stay in power.
Zelensky said he was ready for elections and would seek to hold them on condition that the United States and other allies provided guarantees to keep voters safe at a time when Ukraine’s cities were under attack day and night.
“I’m asking now, and stating this openly, for the United States to help me. Together with our European partners, we can ensure the security needed to hold elections. If that happens, Ukraine will be ready to conduct elections in the next 60 to 90 days,” said Zelensky.
The offer came after Trump called for elections, complaining that Ukraine liked to talk about democracy “but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”
Ukraine’s recently sacked defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for wartime elections in the country, stating the nation was facing a crisis of governance.
This is the first demand of its kind from a major political Ukrainian figure since Russia’s invasion began in 2022.
Published On 19 Aug 202619 Aug 2026
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