T-Minus Space Daily Plane launch to rescue a falling NASA telescope.
Nov 20, 2025
In this episode, Derek Harris, Head of Business Development at Skyrora, dives into the innovative world of large-format 3D printing for space applications. He shares insights on Skyrora's cutting-edge projects, including the use of tanbium alloys that promise enhanced performance with their superior tensile strength and heat resistance. Derek emphasizes the critical role of new materials in reducing costs and weights, potentially transforming space propulsion technologies in the near future.
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Air-Launched Rescue Enables Tight Timeline
- Catalyst Space chose Northrop Grumman's Pegasus XL because it's the only system meeting orbit, timeline, and budget for the NASA SWIFT rescue mission.
- The mission must launch by June 2026 to reboost the decaying SWIFT observatory and prevent its predicted 2026 reentry.
First Orbital Servicer To Save A Telescope
- The Link spacecraft is a first-of-its-kind orbital servicing vehicle tasked with repositioning NASA's SWIFT telescope.
- Successful reboost would extend SWIFT's two decades of gamma-ray burst science beyond its predicted 2026 crash.
Offshore Launch To Bypass Terrestrial Bottlenecks
- VIA Space and Seagate Space aim to develop offshore, mobile launch platforms to avoid land‑based bottlenecks.
- Sea-based launch could enable flexible orbit targeting for commercial and defense missions.