WASHINGTON — NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which has spent nearly 22 years studying powerful cosmic explosions, was expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on November 4, according to the US space agency.
Launched in 2004, the spacecraft was designed to study gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy events in the universe using three onboard telescopes. Its original primary mission was planned to last two years, but it continued scientific operations for more than two decades.
The approximately 3,200-pound (1,450-kilogram) observatory has been gradually losing altitude. A planned rescue mission to capture the satellite and boost it into a higher orbit was abandoned after the commercial spacecraft involved encountered technical problems.
NASA expects most of Swift to burn up as it passes through the atmosphere, although some components could survive and reach the surface. The US Space Force estimated the risk of harm to anyone on Earth at approximately one in 2,100. NASA said the possible debris zone was limited by the spacecraft’s orbital path to latitudes between 20.6 degrees north and 20.6 degrees south.
The precise time and location of re-entry remained uncertain, with forecasts subject to change. NASA and the US Space Force were monitoring the spacecraft’s descent.
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