NASA's Swift telescope re-enters Earth's atmosphere after nearly 22 years in space
The observatory, launched in 2004, burned up over North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Wednesday, with some parts possibly surviving.
NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory re-entered Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday, ending a mission that lasted more than ten times longer than originally planned. The U.S. Space Force confirmed the spacecraft entered the atmosphere at 7:39 a.m. EST above North Sumatra, Indonesia, at roughly 3.4 degrees north latitude and 98.6 degrees east longitude.
Launched in 2004, Swift carried three telescopes built to study powerful explosions in the universe, especially gamma-ray bursts. When it detected a sudden outburst, it could quickly turn its telescopes toward the source and alert observatories worldwide. NASA had planned for two years of operation, but Swift kept producing science for more than two decades, including work on supermassive black holes, supernovae, comets and asteroids.
NASA expected most of the spacecraft to burn up during re-entry, but officials acknowledged some components could have survived the heat.
Key points
- Swift re-entered Earth's atmosphere Wednesday at 7:39 a.m. EST over Indonesia.
- The telescope was launched in 2004 and was planned for two years of work.
- Most of the craft was expected to burn up, though some parts may have survived.
- It studied gamma-ray bursts, black holes, supernovae and near-Earth objects.
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