WORLDTECHNASA ends Swift observatory's science work as its orbit decays
Full credit
File:NASA Science Calendar 2021.pdf / NASA This image was created with Adobe InDesign . / https://eospso.nasa.gov/https%3A/eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/2021-nasa-science-calendar ( direct link ) / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_Science_Calendar_2021.pdfSource pageNASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has closed out its mission after more than 21 years of watching some of the universe's most violent events. The spacecraft is expected to fall back into Earth's atmosphere in the coming weeks.
Final observation and falling orbit
NASA said on October 23 that Swift had stopped its science work, citing an orbit that had sunk too low for the telescopes to be aimed reliably at astronomical targets.
The observatory's last observation was made on October 20, when it was circling roughly 171 miles (275 kilometers) above the planet.
Mission ran far beyond its planned span
The observatory had been designed for a two-year mission. It instead kept working for more than two decades, during which it tracked some of the most extreme events in the cosmos.
Re-entry into the atmosphere is expected within the coming weeks.
Archive will keep producing results
Although the telescope no longer observes, its archive of observations stays available to researchers. Scientists are expected to keep analysing that data for years, and discoveries could still emerge long after the spacecraft is gone.
Open questions
- Where and when exactly will the spacecraft re-enter the atmosphere?