Launch of Mission to Boost NASA’s Swift Scrubs Due to Weather

NASA has a plan to help the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory last longer.. Something unexpected happened on June 30 2026. The launch of the LINK spacecraft was delayed because of bad weather. This spacecraft is part of the Swift Boost mission. The goal of Swift Boost is to move the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to an orbit so it does not fall back to Earth. The launch was supposed to happen from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands using Northrop Grumman's Pegasus XL rocket.. The weather was not good enough to launch the spacecraft safely. So NASA and its partner Katalyst Space decided to wait until the weather gets better. NASA is watching the situation closely. They were planning to launch the spacecraft on July 1 2026. Now they have to wait. The Swift Boost mission is a deal in the history of satellite maintenance. NASA wants to use the LINK spacecraft to catch up with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Then it will use arms to attach to the observatory and slowly move it to a higher orbit over a few months. This is a way of doing things. Usually NASA would launch an observatory instead of fixing an old one. I was only supposed to work for two years.. It is still working very well even after more than twenty years. It helps detect events in space like gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. However the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is getting lower faster than expected. This is because the Sun is more active than usual which causes drag on the spacecraft. If nothing is done the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory could fall back to Earth. The weather delay was disappointing for the people working on the mission and for space fans.. It was the safest thing to do. The weather is very important for space missions especially when using rockets like Pegasus XL. Bad weather can make the mission more risky. NASA says that safety is the important thing. It is better to delay the launch than to risk failing the mission. The Swift Boost mission is not about saving the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. It is also a test of technology that could help maintain satellites in the future. This technology could help fix, refuel or move satellites by throwing them away. It could also help reduce space debris and make space missions cheaper. Experts think this technology could play a role in the future of space exploration. Even though the launch was delayed NASA is still getting ready for the launch window. The engineers are keeping an eye on the spacecraft and the weather forecast. If the Swift Boost mission is successful it could start an era in commercial satellite maintenance. It could also lead to scientific discoveries for many years.