WASHINGTON — NASA has awarded a $30 million contract to a startup to attempt to boost the orbit of an astronomy satellite before it reenters next year.

NASA announced Sept. 24 that Katalyst Space won a $30 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase 3 contract to reboost the orbit of the Swift spacecraft in spring 2026. Katalyst will send a spacecraft to dock with Swift and raise its orbit before it makes an uncontrolled reentry, expected in the second half of 2026.

Katalyst received one of two study contracts from NASA on Aug. 11 to examine the feasibility of raising Swift’s orbit . The other went to a team led by Astroscale U.S. and Cambrian Works. The short studies explored how spacecraft already in development could be used to perform the maneuver.

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