According to Ars Technica, NASA's bid to save the Swift observatory was anything but by the book. The agency 'squeezed Treasury,' used 'vibe coding'—a colloquial term for AI-assisted, prompt-driven programming—and generally broke the mold in an effort to extend the mission. The approach mixed financial improvisation with informal software development.
Despite those efforts, the rescue did not reach its goal. The article includes a lament from the team: 'We did some really, really cool stuff. I'm absolutely gutted we weren't able to get further.' The tone is one of pride mixed with disappointment.
NASA is framing the failed mission as a celebration of what was attempted. For business readers, the takeaway is that unconventional methods can produce impressive results even when they do not deliver the intended outcome. The source provides no cost details or independent assessment, so the celebration is primarily from the team's own perspective.