By Islam El-Sakka
NASA's Swift Observatory is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere on or around Friday after a failed rescue mission left the aging telescope in a decaying orbit, the U.S. Space Force said. Most of the 1.5-ton spacecraft will burn up during descent, though dense tungsten components and mirror elements could survive, according to Brad Cenko, the mission's chief scientist.
Rescue Mission Fails
Strong solar activity in recent years accelerated Swift's orbital decay. NASA hired Katalyst Space a year ago for an emergency rescue, but the company's three-armed robot, Link, suffered issues after launching in July. Link never approached closer than 7 to 9 miles (12 to 15 kilometers) before falling back to Earth in September.
Swift's Scientific Legacy
Launched on November 20, 2004, Swift spent 22 years detecting the universe's most violent events, including more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 exploding stars. Its ability to pivot rapidly toward erupting phenomena allowed NASA to alert telescopes such as Hubble and Webb for deeper follow-up observations.
Reentry Zone and Monitoring
Any surviving debris will likely fall into the ocean, but the reentry zone includes portions of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. The Space Force continues to monitor the spacecraft's trajectory.
End of an Era
"We've known this day would come since before Swift was launched," said John Nousek, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University who led the control team. "At least in low-Earth orbit, what goes up must come down. And that end is catastrophic." Astronomers are now working on methods to fill the operational void left by Swift's demise.
