LINK reenters after 85 days, having come within 12-15 km of Swift

Katalyst Space/LINK

LINK was deorbited and burned up on September 24-25, 2026. An unresponsive thruster valve set it spinning and a later power-switch failure blocked rendezvous and capture, but its robot arms deployed and its electric thrusters worked, giving Katalyst flight data for future servicers.

• Root causes: an unresponsive reaction-control valve, then a power circuit switch failure.
• Robot arms deployed and electric thrusters ran as expected.
• Closest approach to Swift: about 12-15 km (Katalyst).