CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The spacecraft rushing to the rescue of an aging and sinking NASA telescope has run into its own problem.
Katalyst Space Technologies said Tuesday that its Link satellite is experiencing thruster problems and has gone into an uncontrollable spin that is disrupting communication.
The trouble struck over the weekend, three weeks after the three-armed robotic spacecraft blasted into orbit.
The startup company said it's working nonstop to get Link back in action so it can capture Swift and boost the telescope to a higher orbit. Swift will crash back to Earth this fall without help. NASA is paying $30 million for the rescue effort, which was thrown together in under a year.
Launched in 2004, Swift is descending faster than expected because of recent solar activity. It needs a lift as soon as possible in order to continue scanning the universe for some of the biggest explosions, including gamma ray bursts and exploded stars. Scientific observations are on hold until then.
Neither Katalyst nor NASA is giving up hope. All of Link's other major subsystems appear to be doing fine, according to the company.
"The mission remains active and we continue to believe that with these changes, Link has a viable path to rendezvous with Swift," Katalyst said in a statement.
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FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows Kieran Wilson, LINK's principal investigator, and Hunter Robertson, a space systems engineer, both at Katalyst Space, standing next to their spacecraft inside the SES (Space Environment Simulator) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., April 17, 2026, ahead of thermal vacuum testing. (Sophia Roberts/NASA via AP, File)
First responders searched homes and buildings on Tuesday for possible victims of a powerful tornado that ravaged several northeastern Wisconsin communities.
The Fox Cities region, which is home to more than 100,000 people in the cities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday's twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped, and power lines and trees toppled.
“The depth of the tornado and its impact is incredible, devastating. We’re really still at the assessment stage,” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz said at a news conference Tuesday.
David Chew, 55, said a tree smashed through his roof in Menasha, and he still hadn't located an outdoor patio lounger swept away by the storm. But he's better off than a neighbor: A portion of her roof was ripped clean, with furniture and drywall “sucked out.”
“It was just a shocker,” said Chew, who had rushed to the basement with his wife and son.
Despite widespread damage, the timing of the storm could be why there have been no reported deaths. The tornado arrived in the early afternoon, authorities noted, when most people were awake and after warnings had been issued.
“Everybody was at work. It was the middle of the day,” Menasha Police Chief Matt Albrecht said. “Most people were not at home and at their place of employment.”
Dozens of people were injured, and officers were still going door-to-door a day later in search of possible victims.
The tornado touched down around 1 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes, cutting a roughly 12-mile (19.3-kilometer) path of destruction, the National Weather Service reported. The area is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.
It was classified as an EF3 tornado — the strongest to strike Outagamie and Winnebago counties since an EF4 touched down in April 1984, the weather service said.
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency for the affected areas. Shelters were opened for displaced residents.
As chain saws roared in the background, Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said a number of neighborhoods were “truly devastated.” Like elsewhere in the region, electricity lines were tangled around broken trees, making power restoration a slow, risky process.
More than 10,000 customers in Winnebago and Outagamie counties were still without power, according to utilities that serve them. It could be several days before power is fully restored.
The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes and was fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, the weather service said.
“What we are seeing this summer is significant heat leading to significant severe weather,” said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “We had an EF3 tornado in Wisconsin. People need to take these warnings seriously. It can happen just about anywhere.”
ThedaCare Regional Medical Centers in Appleton and Neenah said it treated 40 people, mostly for minor storm-related injuries. Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton said it saw about 30 patients, all with minor injuries.
Rachel Bernhardt, 56, said she grabbed her dog and dashed to her basement in the village of Fox Crossing after she saw a steel swing spinning in the yard. When the storm passed, her second-floor bedroom was covered in glass and a tree branch was resting on her bed. The carpet was soaked.
“We can’t be in there anymore,” said Bernhardt, who is sleeping on the first floor and using a generator to keep the refrigerator going. “In fact, I’m going to caution-tape that off.”
At Manderfield’s Home Bakery, a decades-old landmark in Menasha, the brick frame around the door still stood, but not much more.
“This can be replaced,” owner Jerry Manderfield told WISN-TV. “We had people in the building that could possibly have died in there.”
Luigi’s Pizza in Menasha set up a food trailer to distribute hygiene packs and free slices after donors kicked in enough money to make at least 125 pizzas Tuesday.
“Sometimes a hot pizza, a taco, and a reminder that your community cares can mean more than words,” said Duncan’s Window & Door, which chipped in for 50 pizzas.
Associated Press reporters Christopher Keller and Scott Bauer contributed to this story.
A view of a home damaged by a tornado that tore through a day before in Appleton, Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
A man helps clear debris from the backyard of a damaged house after a tornado hit the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Debris surrounded a damaged warehouse in the aftermath of a tornado that tore through Appleton, Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Power lines tangled with debris lie on the ground after a tornado tore through a day before in Appleton., Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Volunteers help clear tree limbs near a damaged house after a tornado hit the day before in Appleton, Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Debris is seen in front of a damaged house after a tornado struck Monday, July 27, 2026, in Menasha, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Debris and fallen trees cover the ground after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
A car sits in a parking lot under a collapsed roof after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Williams Burrows cleans up debris in his backyard after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
People clean up debris in front of a damaged home after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
