A Katalyst Space robot that was launched to grab a space telescope and lift it to a higher orbit spun out of control after a series of malfunctions, NASA and the company said today.

The company is trying to stabilize the spacecraft using backup systems before NASA decides if the mission can continue.

This is the first time the space agency has hired a private company to raise one of its space telescopes to a higher orbit, which will allow the observatory to continue operations beyond its expected useful life.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched in 2004 and has the ability to quickly pinpoint ephemeral space events like gamma-ray bursts. The spacecraft has been pulled towards Earth and needs to be pushed back into a higher orbit to continue doing its job.

The LINK spacecraft was launched into space on July 3 aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket. Over the past few weeks, flight controllers have worked to get the spacecraft up and running, activating its various systems before it heads to rendezvous with Swift.

However, the spacecraft suffered control problems and began spinning over the weekend. According to NASA, the spin has caused “sporadic communications” with the satellite, probably because its antenna is moving away from the planet. Two of the three reaction wheels that control the spacecraft’s alignment have failed and there are problems with one of the spacecraft’s thruster systems.

Flight controllers are working to recover the spacecraft using another set of thrusters on the spacecraft to slow the spin, and said in a statement that “we have already begun this series of burns and are seeing the desired effect.” Katalyst told TechCrunch that “this remains an active mission and we continue to move forward with plans to meet with Swift.”

Kieran Wilson, Katalyst’s principal mission investigator, told reporters before the mission that the spacecraft had been built incredibly quickly because of the urgent need to lift Swift in the coming months.

“This is all challenging and risky,” he said at the time. “There are many spacecraft that have had much longer development cycles with much more funding behind them and that have failed for mundane reasons.”

Katalyst raised a $12 million round in June to help support this mission, backed by investors Fortitude Ventures and Geodesic Capital. The company also secured funding from the U.S. military, which is interested in a dynamic vehicle that could service satellites or monitor rival spacecraft.

This story has been updated to include comments from Katalyst.