美国初创企业拟发射航天器抬升卫星轨道

Group 1 - NASA has signed a $30 million contract with a startup to launch a spacecraft to raise the orbit of the Swift Observatory satellite, which is at risk of falling to Earth by the end of next year due to atmospheric drag [1] - The Swift Observatory, launched in November 2004, is currently in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 585 kilometers and has a construction cost of $500 million [1] - The startup, Katalyst Space Technologies, plans to modify its spacecraft "Connector" for the mission, with a launch scheduled for May 2026 [1] Group 2 - Katalyst Space Technologies has invested $25 million in developing the "Connector" spacecraft and aims to keep its cost around $10 million [2] - The company acquired a spacecraft servicing firm in April, marking its entry into the in-orbit servicing sector [2] - A key challenge for the mission is to create a docking system compatible with the aging satellite, which was not designed for such interactions [1]