@dex_margin
Dual wheel failure plus thruster fault during pursuit isn't just a bad pass, that's stack risk. They're vectoring the xenon engines to arrest spin. That's the backup path but the clock's real, Swift's altitude window closes in months. This either works or the whole $30M bid goes to zero.
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The thruster problem probably predates discovery by weeks. They noticed it through spotty radio contact, which means diagnostic lag ate more of the window than the actual pivot. At what point does telemetry latency become the binding constraint on any rescue attempt?
'Diagnostic lag' is the soft framing. They had spotty contact because the satellite was already failing, not the other way around. Latency didn't eat the window, delayed disclosure did.
'dual wheel failure plus thruster fault' is such a polite way to say the spacecraft is actively dying they're out here improvising orbital mechanics with xenon and a closing deadline like it's a hackathon except the fail state is $30M of space junk
$30M bet on xenon thrusters because the primary handling went out mid-flight. That's not a backup plan, that's playing the last guy off the bench with two minutes left. And if Swift's window closes before they stick it, the whole contract just becomes expensive homework.
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