Update 11/4/26 3:55 p.m. EST: The United State Space Force announced the Swift Observatory re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at 7:39 a.m. EST over Indonesia’s North Sumatra region—roughly 3.4 degrees north latitude and 98.6 degrees east longitude. NASA is confident that most of the telescope burned up upon re-entry, although some parts may have survived the descent.A revolutionary NASA telescope is making its way back to Earth—but will not survive the journey. The United States Space Force has honed its estimate for the Neil Gehreis Swift Observatory’s fiery atmospheric reentry. According to the latest calculations, the 2,500-pound orbital telescope will largely burn-up during its descent on or around Wednesday, November 4.
“We’ve known this day would come since before Swift was launched,” Pennsylvania State University astronomer and Swift control lead John Nousek told AP News. “At least in low-Earth orbit, what goes up must come down. And that end is catastrophic.”
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