Swift operations end: 2004 spacecraft headed for fiery reentry

NASA’s Swift observatory made its final observation on 20 October and is expected to burn up during atmospheric re-entry in the coming weeks. The end of the mission matters because Swift helped astronomers respond quickly to cosmic events, and NASA says it has no direct replacement.

Launched in 2004 for a two-year mission, Swift operated for almost 22 years. Atmospheric drag has lowered its orbit to below 171 miles, where it can no longer keep its telescopes steady; a summer attempt to raise its orbit with Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft did not succeed. Swift observed more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 supernovae, completed an all-sky X-ray survey and built an archive of about 12 terabytes.