NASA’s Swift Space Telescope Falls Back to Earth
NASA’s Swift space telescope re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Wednesday after nearly 22 years in orbit. The observatory studied gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic events, contributing to nearly 7,000 published scientific papers. A private rescue mission failed after its servicing spacecraft developed attitude-control problems, and Swift stopped operating on October 20.
NASA’s Swift space telescope re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Wednesday at 7:39 a.m. EST, the US space agency said. The observatory’s return ended a mission that lasted just a few days short of 22 years, after a plan to raise it into a higher orbit failed.
Most of the spacecraft was expected to burn up during re-entry, NASA said, though some components may have survived. There were no immediate reports of damage on the ground.
Why did NASA’s Swift space telescope return to Earth?
The observatory fell out of orbit partly because powerful geomagnetic storms, set off by solar eruptions, lowered its altitude. NASA brought in private company Katalyst Space for a rescue effort in July, aiming to boost Swift’s orbit.
The attempt did not succeed. Katalyst Space’s three-armed robotic servicing spacecraft, LINK, developed attitude-control problems soon after reaching space and began spinning uncontrollably. The rescue vehicle itself returned to Earth in September. Swift stopped operating on October 20.
The failed rescue left the aging observatory unable to continue its work in orbit. Its re-entry also marked the end of a mission that far outlasted its planned two-year duration.
A long-running observatory’s scientific record
NASA launched the unmanned Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in 2004. Equipped with three telescopes, it was designed to study gamma-ray bursts, among the universe’s most powerful energy releases. The mission was initially planned to last two years, but continued for almost 22.
Swift weighed roughly 1,452 kilograms, or 3,200 pounds, and cost $500 million (€444 million). During its mission, the observatory studied hundreds of supernova explosions, black holes shredding stars, stellar X-ray flares, asteroids and comets.
Its work also fed into nearly 7,000 published scientific papers. That record gives the satellite’s end a practical consequence beyond the loss of a spacecraft: researchers have lost an active observatory that had supported studies across several kinds of cosmic events.
The spacecraft’s descent was tracked over Indonesia. NASA said some parts may have survived the passage through the atmosphere, while most of Swift was expected to burn up.
Swift’s mission lasted just a few days short of 22 years.
