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NASA says Swift observatory likely to re-enter Wednesday
NASA said Monday the Swift Observatory, after 22 years in orbit, is expected to re-enter around Wednesday, according to CBS News.
- New headline Was: “NASA telescope is plunging back to Earth after 22 years in orbit”
- Our desk filed its story
NASA said Monday that the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is likely to re-enter Earth's atmosphere around Wednesday after 22 years in low Earth orbit, CBS News reported1.
NASA quoted the U.S. Space Force as putting re-entry at about 3:30 a.m. EST on Nov. 4, with 11 hours of uncertainty, as of Monday1.
Most of the roughly 3,200-pound spacecraft is expected to burn up. Brad Cenko, NASA's Swift chief scientist, said denser tungsten pieces and some mirror parts could survive, according to CBS News1.
NASA said any surviving wreckage would most likely fall in the ocean. The possible re-entry zone includes parts of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America1.
The agency put the chance of harm to anyone on Earth at about 1 in 2,100 and said NASA and the Space Force would keep updating forecasts1.
Swift launched Nov. 20, 2004, to observe gamma-ray bursts and supernovas. Stronger solar activity in recent years increased atmospheric drag and dropped its orbit faster than planned1.
NASA hired Katalyst Space about a year ago for a rescue. The company's three-armed robot, Link, launched in July, never got closer than 7 to 9 miles, and re-entered in September, CBS News reported1.
After the rescue was called off, Swift kept observing until late October, when it was too low to stay stable and systems were shut down. CBS News said the mission's tally included more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 exploding stars1.
