Swift Telescope Expected to Reenter Earth's Atmosphere Friday
NASA's Swift Observatory, which tracked gamma-ray bursts for 22 years, is falling out of orbit after a robotic rescue mission failed to boost it to a higher altitude.
By Scott Marshall ·
The U.S. Space Force predicts that the Swift Observatory will crash into Earth on or around Friday, October 31. The aging telescope is currently descending through the atmosphere at a rapid rate following a failed effort to extend its orbital life.
Most of the 1.5-ton instrument will burn up upon reentry. However, NASA chief scientist Brad Cenko stated that some components, including mirror parts and sections made of tungsten, could survive the descent. These denser materials are more resistant to atmospheric friction than the rest of the structure.
While the bulk of the wreckage is expected to land in the ocean, the reentry corridor covers parts of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. The Space Force is actively tracking the telescope’s path to determine the specific impact zone.
Swift launched on November 20, 2004, with the primary mission of detecting gamma-ray bursts and supernovas. During its two decades in orbit, the telescope identified more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 exploding stars. It also cataloged numerous comets, asteroids, and black holes.
NASA hired Katalyst Space a year ago to rescue the telescope from its decaying orbit. The company deployed a three-armed robot named Link in July. Link failed to reach the Swift Observatory, stopping between 7 and 9 miles away. The robot subsequently fell back to Earth in September.
Intense solar activity in recent years increased atmospheric drag, causing Swift to descend faster than projected. The telescope resumed observing after the rescue attempt ended, but its altitude dropped too low for stable readings by late October. Engineers then shut down its systems.
John Nousek, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University who led the control team, said the team has accepted the inevitable end of the mission. "We’ve known this day would come since before Swift was launched. At least in low-Earth orbit, what goes up must come down. And that end is catastrophic," Nousek said.
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