NASA’s Swift observatory re-enters atmosphere after nearly 22 years

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on November 4, bringing a nearly 22-year mission to a close. The US Space Force confirmed re-entry at 7:39 a.m. Eastern Standard Time over Indonesia’s North Sumatra region, NASA said.

NASA expected most of the spacecraft to burn up, though some components could have survived. The confirmation identifies re-entry; it does not establish where every fragment may have landed. Launched in 2004 for a planned two-year mission, Swift studied gamma-ray bursts and other rapidly changing cosmic events for more than two decades.

Sources: NASA; NASA mission history; Reuters.

Use NASA concept art only with its factual-editorial credit; it is not re-entry footage.