NASA's LINK probe, launched in early July to rescue the Swift observatory, is now spinning helplessly in orbit. The Swift observatory has been decaying faster than normal due to increased solar activity and would re-enter Earth's atmosphere this year without intervention.

Built by Arizona-based Katalyst Space, LINK was designed to dock with Swift and tug it to a higher orbit. However, NASA's blog update reveals LINK experienced attitude control issues last weekend, causing it to spin and resulting in sporadic communications.

Two of LINK's three reaction wheels are inoperable, and its cold gas thruster system has lost functionality. Ground teams maintain communication and plan to use electric propulsion thrusters to stop the spinning, then reestablish guidance and navigation.

Katalyst Space remains optimistic, stating the mission remains active with a viable path to rendezvous with Swift. NASA and Katalyst Space must now tweak plans based on LINK's condition to determine if the rescue can proceed.