Link is the second space mission developed by Katalyst, following a technology demonstration launched in 2024 by Atomos Space, a company acquired by Katalyst last year.
“When we started the program, I think everyone realized that the biggest risk was that we wouldn’t be ready to launch in time, that Swift would fall faster than we could get back up. We’ve been able to eliminate that risk by building, testing and preparing to fly the spacecraft over the last few months,” Wilson said. “So I think that leaves the bulk of the overall concern. Now there’s a lot of residual risk in the program. We still have to get the spacecraft into orbit and successfully pilot the spacecraft there, and as we’ve all seen before, that’s a very difficult thing to do.”
The Link spacecraft is integrated with Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket.
Credit: NASA/Ron Beard
The Link spacecraft is integrated with Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket.
Credit: NASA/Ron Beard
It also helped Northrop Grumman stock all the parts for the Pegasus XL missile. The last two Pegasus rockets were originally ordered by Stratolaunch, a company owned by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Stratolaunch abandoned the rockets after Allen’s death in 2018, and Northrop was free to sell them to other customers. He sold one to the Space Force in 2021 and the other to Catalyst last year.
Whatever happens after Link’s launch, NASA and its partners believe they have written a new template for how to execute a responsive space mission.
“Some would call this a first-of-its-kind robotic spacecraft capable of capturing an unprepared satellite,” said Robert Lamontagne, Katalyst’s vice president of strategic partnerships. “It’s a commercial mission first and foremost. It has an operational, real-world purpose. It’s not just a demonstration, and we’re doing it as a service. … It’s really a blueprint for a commercial-government partnership.”
“From a programmatic standpoint, I think it’s already a success, we’re just going to try it,” Domagal-Goldman said.
