一项旨在挽救NASA这座价值5亿美元的尼尔·盖尔斯·斯威夫特天文台、使其免于坠出轨道的努力未能成功，但在回顾此次任务时，政府官员和商业航天官员表示，为让救援成为可能而进行的幕后运作值得肯定。
An attempt to save NASA's $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from dropping out of orbit fell short, but the behind-the-scenes machinations required just to make a rescue possible deserve recognition, government and commercial space officials said in a recounting of the mission.
这项救援任务由Katalyst Space Technologies开发，该公司依据NASA去年9月授予的一份价值3000万美元的合同开展工作。
The rescue mission was developed by Katalyst Space Technologies, working under a $30 million contract awarded by NASA last September.
NASA给了Katalyst九个月时间，用于建造并发射一颗卫星，以捕获在地球上空约200英里处飞行的斯威夫特，并将其推入更高的轨道。
NASA gave Katalyst nine months to build and launch a satellite to capture Swift flying some 200 miles above the Earth and boost it into a higher orbit.
Katalyst的救援航天器名为Link，于7月3日成功发射，并完成了部分初步检查，但几周后因发生故障而失控旋转。
Katalyst's rescue spacecraft, known as Link, successfully launched July 3 and completed some of its initial checkouts before a malfunction caused it to spin out of control a few weeks later.
NASA于8月宣布，Link无法按计划抵达斯威夫特，救援任务因此被中止。
NASA announced in August that Link would not be able to reach Swift as intended, and the rescue mission was aborted.