This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory took its last look at the sky on Oct. 20, 2026, while orbiting about 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth. NASA ended the telescope's mission three days later, because Swift had sunk so low that drag from the thin air there meant its telescopes couldn't hold steady.
The telescope reentered the atmosphere on Nov. 4 above the North Sumatra region of Indonesia and largely burned up, an abrupt ending to two decades spent observing powerful cosmic explosions. Swift's reentry comes after a failed rescue mission in the summer of 2026. LINK, a commercial robotic spacecraft sent to raise Swift into a safer orbit, reentered Earth's atmosphere in September.
The machine designed to save a falling satellite burned up first. As a Ph.D. candidate in aerospace engineering, I know that rescuing satellites is hard. I research how spacecraft approach and capture satellites, including objects that tumble uncontrollably.
Swift's loss points to a new hazard for the young industry that repairs, refuels and moves spacecraft around in orbit. If something goes wrong, the spacecraft doing the rescuing can become another problem. The plan was for LINK to approach Swift, grab it with one of its three robotic arms and fire its thrusters to push the telescope back up to about 373 miles (600 kilometers) above Earth's surface, where it could keep observing for years.
In late July, LINK lost two of its three reaction wheels, which are heavy wheels inside a spacecraft that help it turn without using fuel. That loss, combined with problems with its propulsion system, sent the spacecraft into an uncontrolled spin. Without working wheels, a spacecraft steers with its thrusters instead, and every burn spends propellant.
Engineers eventually slowed LINK's rotation by firing its thrusters against the spin. NASA reported in August that they had cut its spin from about 9 degrees per second to roughly 1.5 degrees per second. NASA and Katalyst Space, LINK's builder, called off the capture and boost later in August.
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