NASA's Swift shortens orbital lifetime for the sake of science
Instruments reactivated for a final hurrah before reentry
NASA's Swift spacecraft, once considered beyond rescue, has had its instruments reactivated to gather a final batch of scientific data before it reenters Earth's atmosphere. In February, the Ultraviolet/Optical and X-ray telescopes were turned off to reduce atmospheric drag, followed by the Burst Alert Telescope's shutdown in April to save power and minimize drag.
Despite these efforts, a rescue mission failed due to control issues with the Katalyst Space LINK spacecraft, which was unable to capture and return Swift to a higher orbit. Now, with the mission set to end in October, NASA has decided that the potential scientific rewards outweigh the loss of a few weeks or months of orbital lifetime.
Swift's solar arrays, positioned to further reduce drag, and low-drag operations have extended Swift's life above the critical 185-mile altitude threshold until October. Mission managers anticipate Swift will reach this altitude and resume data collection sometime within the next one to two months.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- NASA's Swift shortens orbital lifetime for the sake of science theregister.com
