Helion says its Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and to reach 150 million degrees Celsius, while Realta Fusion reported converting plasma energy directly into electricity.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have abandoned the robotic mission to lift the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbit. The telescope is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere later this year, and the $30 million spent on the rescue attempt will not buy it another observing season.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have abandoned the robotic rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, leaving the $500 million gamma-ray telescope to burn up in Earth's atmosphere later this year while scientists warn that the same institutional erosion threatens missions still on the ground.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies called off the robotic rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory on 19 August 2026, after attitude control failures left the LINK spacecraft spinning and unable to reach the falling telescope.
NASA's $30 million bet on a private satellite rescue ended this summer when Katalyst Space Technologies gave up on boosting the Swift telescope. Days later, a separate NPR report described Goddard Space Flight Center engineers losing the labs and equipment they use to build spacecraft.
Helion says its Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and reach 150 million degrees Celsius, one of three private-sector results announced between February and July 2026.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have called off the mission to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which will now reenter Earth's atmosphere later this year. The rescue attempt cost $30 million.
Helion says its Polaris prototype became the first privately built machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and hit 150 million degrees Celsius. It is one of a run of private fusion results announced between February and July 2026.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have called off the robotic rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. The LINK spacecraft suffered ongoing attitude control failures and could no longer attempt to capture and boost the 22-year-old telescope.
Helion's Polaris prototype has become the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and reach 150 million degrees Celsius, the company said on 13 February 2026, while Realta Fusion reported the first direct conversion of plasma energy into electricity by a commercial fusion company on 19 June 2026.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have given up on boosting the falling Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the agency announced on August 19, after the LINK rescue craft failed to regain attitude control. The $30 million effort was meant to keep the 2004-launched gamma-ray telescope in orbit; instead it will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up later this year.
NASA has abandoned its $30 million robot rescue of the Swift gamma-ray observatory, weeks after the Starling mission demonstrated the first optical, GPS-free orbit determination by a spacecraft. The two outcomes point in opposite directions for spacecraft autonomy.
Four private fusion companies logged measurable hardware results between February and July 2026, while the $22 billion public ITER project in southern France kept working through a repair bill first identified in 2020.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have abandoned the $30 million rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after the LINK spacecraft suffered attitude control failures that left it spinning at about 9 degrees per second, the agency announced on 19 August.
Helion's Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and reached plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, the company said on 13 February 2026. A rival stellarator startup raised $100 million, and the $22 billion ITER project entered its third decade with a repaired heat shield.
Helion says its Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and the first to reach plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius. The Washington company reported both firsts on 13 February 2026.