A spacecraft that launched nearly a month ago with the ambitious goal of boosting the orbit of NASA's Swift Observatory is currently having a bit of an existential crisis - spinning uncontrollably in multiple axes, which is about as useful for a rescue mission as a fire truck with no wheels.

Katalyst Space Technologies, the company behind the Link spacecraft, revealed in a July 28 social media update that their little orbital hero is in a “multi-axis spin” thanks to attitude control issues. Two of its three reaction wheels have decided to take a permanent coffee break, and its thrusters are only working part-time. The situation got so dire that the spacecraft temporarily lost communication and had to reboot itself, like a moody teenager restarting their phone.

Link launched on July 3 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket, tasked with rendezvousing and docking with NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a gamma-ray telescope whose orbit is decaying faster than a politician's promise. Without intervention, Swift will reenter Earth's atmosphere by early next year. NASA, clearly desperate, awarded Katalyst Space a $30 million contract last September to attempt this high-risk reboost.

Earlier in July, Katalyst seemed optimistic, saying Link had achieved a stable attitude and completed initial checkouts. But by July 24, they were testing electric thrusters with a couple of small burns that raised the spacecraft's altitude by about 2 kilometers - a warm-up for the marathon burns needed for the actual rendezvous. Then the spinning started.

Katalyst insists that other key systems - communications, propulsion, and the robotic arm needed to grapple Swift - are working fine. They plan to use the gimbaled electric thrusters to slow the spin over the coming days, claiming they've already started and are seeing “the intended effect.” After that, they'll update the guidance software and, fingers crossed, begin the approach to Swift.

Time is not on their side. Before launch, NASA noted that reboost efforts must start before Swift's altitude dips below 300 kilometers. Swift is currently at about 350 kilometers and is expected to hit that threshold in October. So, no pressure.

In a statement that redefines optimism, Katalyst said, “The mission remains active and we continue to believe that with these changes, LINK has a viable path to rendezvous with Swift.” We'll believe it when we see it - preferably not spinning.