NASA's Swift satellite telescope heads for fiery re-entry 22 years after launch
NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up after 22 years of service. The satellite, which studied gamma-ray bursts, had no propulsion system and was unable to be retrieved by a planned rescue mission.
Why it matters
The re-entry marks the end of a significant scientific mission that provided key insights into high-energy cosmic phenomena.
A spacecraft built by space startup Katalyst Space that will tow NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory into a higher orbit awaits encapsulation aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, U.S. June 8, 2026. REUTERS/NASA/Ron Beard By Steve Gorman
Nov 3 (Reuters) - An aging NASA satellite telescope that a robotic spacecraft was sent to retrieve on a failed rescue mission this summer was headed for a fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday, nearly 22 years after it was launched into orbit.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, weighing roughly 3,200 pounds (1,452 kg), was set to tumble out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere somewhere over the tropics, with fragments surviving re-entry unlikely to threaten populated areas, according to NASA.
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