NASA’s Swift satellite telescope heads for fiery re-entry 22 years after launch
An aging NASA satellite, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere, marking the end of its 22-year mission. Weighing about 3,200 pounds, the observatory, launched in 2004, has been studying gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic phenomena using its three telescopes. Despite a failed rescue mission in July, where a robotic spacecraft named LINK was launched in an attempt to retrieve Swift, the satellite is now expected to burn up in the atmosphere early Wednesday, with fragments unlikely to cause harm on the ground.
NASA estimates the odds of harm to anyone on Earth at one in 2,100. The failed rescue attempt, the first of its kind, highlighted the potential of orbital grappling technology with dual-use military applications, reflecting the heightened significance of the mission in the context of the US-China space race.
Written by urgent.news from Investing.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
