NASA launched the LINK spacecraft on Friday to intercept the Swift observatory. The Swift observatory is descending toward Earth. The Swift telescope was launched in 2004. It studies powerful gamma‑ray bursts. Increased solar activity has expanded Earth’s atmosphere, causing atmospheric drag that lowered Swift’s orbit from about 600 km to roughly 360 km over the past two years. The LINK mission, developed by Katalyst Space Technologies, aims to capture Swift with three robotic arms, re‑boost its orbit, and return it to a stable altitude. Dr. Simeon Barber, a senior research fellow at the Open University, said the operation is high risk but valuable for preserving a unique scientific instrument. Engineers note that Swift must remain above 186 km to be recoverable; the mission must succeed before the telescope drops below this threshold. The LINK spacecraft will awaken its systems, navigate to Swift, photograph the telescope, and slowly attach its arms before firing thrusters to raise the orbit back toward the original 600 km altitude. If the rescue succeeds, future servicing missions may be considered for other assets such as the Hubble Space Telescope.