Swift is not a flagship mission on the scale of Hubble or the James Webb Space Telescope, but it has been a workhorse of high-energy astrophysics since its 2004 launch. The observatory has cost roughly 500 million dollars adjusted for inflation to build, launch, and operate over its lifetime.

NASA considered the spacecraft worth saving but at an appropriate price point. Unlike Hubble, which was serviced by five space shuttle missions and was the subject of a proposed private rescue by billionaire Jared Isaacman, Swift's lower value made it a more suitable candidate for a first commercial rescue attempt where the consequences of failure would be less severe.

Katalyst Space Technologies, based in Broomfield, Colorado, was awarded the contract last September and is racing to build and launch a commercial satellite that will rendezvous with Swift and stabilise its orbit. The mission represents a potential new business model for extending the lives of ageing spacecraft without the enormous expense of crewed servicing missions.

If successful, the rescue could establish a template for saving other valuable but not irreplaceable satellites, opening a commercial market for orbital servicing that space industry analysts have long predicted.