NASA’s Swift observatory falls back to Earth after 2 decades in space
NASA’s Swift space telescope has ended its 22-year mission after reentering Earth’s atmosphere on November 4, bringing an end to more than two decades of observations of some of the universe’s most powerful cosmic events, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Space.com.
The 1,450-kilogram observatory reentered the atmosphere at 7:39 a.m. EST (12:39 GMT) over northern Sumatra, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, who cited U.S. Space Force data.
The observatory fell back to Earth uncontrolled, just three months after a private spacecraft was supposed to boost it to a higher, life-extending orbit.
NASA officials had previously estimated that most of the spacecraft would burn up during reentry because of the intense heat generated as it passed through the atmosphere. The agency also assessed the risk of surviving debris causing injury to anyone on Earth at approximately one in 2,100.
Officially known as the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, the telescope was launched into Earth orbit in November 2004 for an initial two-year mission to study gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), among the most powerful explosions in the universe.
Beyond studying gamma-ray bursts, Swift also observed a wide range of astronomical phenomena, including supernova explosions, feeding black holes to asteroids and comets within the solar system.
The observatory significantly exceeded its original two-year mission, continuing scientific operations for nearly two decades beyond its planned lifespan. Its final scientific observation was conducted on October 20.
In 2018, the spacecraft was renamed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in honor of its first principal investigator, Neil Gehrels, who died in 2017.
"Swift delivered an incredible, lasting return on investment for the nation, designed for a two-year primary mission but productive for more than 10 times as long," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA's Astrophysics Division, said in an Oct. 23 statement.
Earlier, it was reported that NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes had captured detailed images of the Cat’s Head Nebula, a dynamic star-forming scene located about 7,500 light-years away from Earth in the Carina Nebula.