Swift Telescope Nears Fiery Return After Rescue Fails

The Swift Observatory is expected to fall back to Earth around October 30, after a rescue effort failed to raise its orbit. Most of the 1½-ton spacecraft should burn up during reentry, though some dense components and mirror pieces could survive. Any debris that reaches the ground is most likely to land in the ocean; the Space Force is monitoring its path, which includes areas across several continents.

Solar activity in recent years increased atmospheric drag on the telescope, accelerating its descent. NASA hired Katalyst Space to carry out a boost, but the company’s Link robot developed problems after launching in July. It came no closer than 7 to 9 miles (12 to 15 kilometers) from Swift before descending to Earth in September.

Swift resumed observations after the rescue was abandoned, but by late October it had dropped too low to hold steady. Its systems were then shut down. The observatory launched in 2004 to detect gamma-ray bursts and could rapidly turn its instruments toward sudden events in the sky.

During 22 years in orbit, Swift recorded over 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and observed 1,400 stars explode, along with comets, asteroids and black holes tearing apart stars. Its alerts also helped other telescopes investigate events in greater detail. Scientists are still working out how to replace some of Swift’s capabilities, and its team hopes later missions will build on what it achieved.