NASA's Swift space telescope plunges back to Earth in fiery demise
NASA's Swift orbital observatory fell back to Earth after running its mission for more than two decades. A rescue attempt to raise its sinking orbit had earlier failed.
NASA's Swift space telescope met its demise as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere after a 22-year mission, ending two decades after its launch. The unmanned Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, equipped with three telescopes, crashed back to Earth over North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Wednesday at 7:39 am EST (12:39 pm UTC). Most of the spacecraft was expected to have burned up upon re-entry, with some components potentially surviving.
Launched in 2004 for $500 million (€444 million), Swift was designed to study gamma ray bursts, the most energetic explosions in the universe. The telescope observed numerous supernova explosions, black holes, X-ray flares, asteroids, and comets, contributing to over 7,000 scientific papers. In July, NASA attempted a rescue mission using a private company's robotic spacecraft, but technical issues prevented it from successfully raising Swift's altitude. Despite these challenges, the satellite remained in good condition until its re-entry.
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