NASA's Swift telescope burns up over Sumatra after nearly 22 years: rescue mission failed

NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory reentered the atmosphere on November 4 at 12:39 UTC over western Indonesia, above Sumatra, NASA said. The chance of anyone on the ground being harmed was estimated at one in 2,100.

Swift launched on November 20, 2004, designed for two years of operation, and worked for nearly 22. It observed more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and more than 1,400 supernovae, with its data used in about 7,000 scientific papers. "Swift has broadened our understanding of a wide variety of cosmic objects and events," NASA said.

A failed rescue

NASA paid Katalyst Space $30 million for a robotic tug, LINK, to capture Swift and raise its orbit. LINK lost attitude control after its July 3 launch, and NASA called off the attempt on August 19. Swift made its last observation on October 20, from about 275 kilometres (171 miles) up.