NASA's Swift telescope reentered the atmosphere uncontrollably, 22 years after its launch / The debris fell over Sumatra

NASA’s Swift space telescope, weighing approximately 1,450 kilograms, reentered Earth’s atmosphere uncontrolled on Wednesday, November 4, 22 years after its launch. According to the U.S. Space Force, the reentry took place at 12:39 GMT over northern Sumatra. NASA estimated that most of the observatory, which was the size of a minibus, would burn up in the atmosphere, while the risk of potential fragments injuring people was approximately one in 2,100.

Swift, renamed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in 2018, was launched in November 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts. The telescope detected these phenomena, rapidly transmitted their coordinates to other observatories, and directed its instruments toward the source in approximately one minute. Over two decades, it identified more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 supernovae.

The observatory had no thrusters to maintain its altitude, and atmospheric drag accelerated its descent. A private rescue mission launched by Katalyst Space failed after problems with the LINK spacecraft’s propulsion and attitude-control systems. Swift made its final scientific observation on October 20.