Swift telescope to crash into Earth after failed rescue
The gist
NASA's Swift telescope is set to reenter Earth's atmosphere after a $30 million rescue failed.
Most of it should burn up, but some tungsten and mirror parts may survive.
How it unfolded
- Nov 20, 2004NASA's Swift Observatory launched into low Earth orbit to observe gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic events, with an expected mission of just two years.
- Feb 2026The science team put Swift in a low-power mode, halting research operations to help slow its drag-induced descent.
- Jul 3, 2026Katalyst Space's robotic spacecraft LINK launched to meet up with Swift and haul it to a higher orbit.