NASA's Swift telescope set for uncontrolled re‑entry on 4 November
NASA predicts the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere on 4 Nov, with the most likely time around 3:30 AM Eastern Time and an uncertainty of about 11 hours. The 1.5‑tonne spacecraft, launched on 20 Nov 2004, has spent 22 years in orbit, detecting over 2,000 gamma‑ray bursts and roughly 1,400 supernovae before its operations ended. A rescue attempt using a private LINK robotic spacecraft was abandoned after attitude‑control problems, leaving the re‑entry uncontrolled.
Key facts
- NASA estimates the chance of any person being harmed by falling debris at about 1 in 2,100.
- Surviving fragments are expected only between 20.6° S and 20.6° N latitude.
- Re‑entry zone includes parts of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America.
- A solar storm accelerated the spacecraft’s decay, moving the re‑entry date forward.
- The telescope’s orbit fell to 171 miles (275 km) on 20 Oct before shutdown.
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Why it matters
The uncontrolled descent highlights growing risks from aging satellites.
What changed
First published from Space.com, The Independent, ABC News (Australia), Engadget and El País English