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NASA's doomed Swift space telescope restarts science work after rescue mission fails
Yahoo • • general
Key Points:
- NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has resumed scientific operations after months in a low-drag mode intended to extend its orbital life, with two of its three instruments restarted on August 26.
- The planned orbital boost mission by the robotic spacecraft LINK, launched in July to raise Swift's orbit, was abandoned due to LINK's technical issues, leaving Swift's future uncertain.
- Swift's third instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope, remains offline but is expected to resume data collection within weeks.
- Launched in 2004 for a two-year mission, Swift has operated for over two decades studying gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic phenomena, but increased atmospheric drag from solar activity is accelerating its orbital decay.
- NASA anticipates Swift will descend below a critical altitude within one to two months and likely reenter Earth's atmosphere later this year, mostly burning up upon reentry.
