NASA's Swift shortens orbital lifetime for the sake of science

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.