Aging NASA Space Telescope Faces Nov. 4 Earth Reentry
NASA expects the Swift Observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after a failed rescue attempt. Most of the telescope should burn up…
NASA expects the aging NASA space telescope Swift Observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after a failed rescue attempt left it descending from orbit. Most of the 1 ½-ton telescope is expected to burn up, though some dense fragments could survive.
The U.S. Space Force predicted the spacecraft would re-enter at approximately 3:30 a.m. EST, Nov. 4, with an uncertainty of 11 hours, NASA said Monday. NASA assessed the risk of harm to anyone on Earth as roughly 1 in 2,100.
The projected path puts parts of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America within the reentry zone. Any surviving debris will most likely fall into the ocean, while the U.S. Space Force tracks the telescope’s changing trajectory.
What could survive the re-entry?
Most of Swift is expected to burn in the atmosphere. NASA mission chief scientist Brad Cenko said a small number of pieces made from tungsten, which is denser than lead, and some mirror parts could reach the surface.
NASA and the Space Force are monitoring the descent and updating their predictions. The agencies have not described the exact location where debris might land.
The uncertainty is substantial. NASA’s forecast places the expected re-entry time within a window spanning 11 hours, and the possible zone crosses several regions of the world. The agency’s estimate of harm remains low, but it is tracking the spacecraft until it comes down.
Why is the Swift Observatory falling?
Intense solar activity over the past few years pulled Swift lower faster than usual. NASA hired Katalyst Space a year ago to attempt a rescue, but the company’s robot Link ran into trouble after launching in July.
The three-armed robot came no closer than 7 miles to 9 miles from the telescope. Link itself plunged back to Earth in September, and the rescue effort was called off.
Swift briefly resumed observations after the attempt ended, detecting more gamma-ray bursts and other ultrahigh-energy events. By late October, however, it had fallen too low to remain steady enough for observations, and NASA shut down its systems.
What did the telescope contribute?
Swift launched on Nov. 20, 2004, to study gamma-ray bursts and supernovas. During 22 years in orbit, it recorded more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 exploding stars, along with comets, asteroids and star-shredding black holes.
Its ability to turn quickly toward sudden cosmic events made it a first responder for Hubble, Webb and other observatories that could follow up with deeper investigations. Scientists are still working out how to fill that role.
“NASA and Space Force will continue to monitor the re-entry and update predictions,” the agency said. Swift’s expected return is approximately 3:30 a.m. EST on Nov. 4, with an uncertainty of 11 hours.
