NASA’s Swift Observatory plunged back to Earth on Wednesday after 22 years studying cosmic explosions, ending a mission that lasted about 11 times longer than planned, PBS NewsHour reports citing the Associated Press. The US Space Force confirmed re-entry near Indonesia after solar activity lowered its orbit.
A private rescue attempt by Katalyst Space failed: its three-armed craft, launched in July to boost the telescope, itself crashed in September. It was unclear how much of the roughly 1.5-ton spacecraft survived atmospheric burn-up. Swift had been one of NASA’s main tools for tracking gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy events.
Source: PBS NewsHour