A storied NASA observatory could be weeks away from falling to Earth after failed rescue attempt

A daring mission failed to rescue NASA’s Swift telescope, and the nearly 22-year-old observatory will soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

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(CNN) — A celebratedspace telescope is rapidly dipping from its once-stable orbit and falling to Earth just shy of the 22nd anniversary of its launch.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will soon have to cease its science observations after a daring rescue mission’s attempt to boost its orbit failed over the summer.

Named after fast-flying birds, the telescope could quickly pivot to observe blink-and-you-miss-it cosmic events like flaring black holes. The telescope was originally designed to study the most powerful explosions in the universe, called gamma-ray bursts, but scientists have also used it to observe other types of cosmic flashes, as well as asteroids and comets.

The 3,200-pound (1,452-kilogram) observatory is currently located about 200 miles (325 kilometers) above Earth. But engineers estimate that once Swift driftsbelow 185 miles (300 kilometers) in early to mid-October, operating the telescope will become a challenge, according to NASA. Then, Swift will drop from orbit and is expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere during the plunge.

“While it’s possible some hardware from the Swift spacecraft may survive re-entry due to its size, the probability of debris causing significant property damage or physical harm to anyone is very small,” according to statement from space-tracking company LeoLabs shared with CNN via email. “More likely, as is the case with most debris that survives re-entry, it will fall into the ocean or on land that’s uninhabited.”

NASA didn’t respond to request for comment on the potential risks related to the observatory’s reentry.

Scientistshoped that a rapidly produced satellite called LINK, which was developed, built and launched by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies in just nine months, could grapple the telescope and lift it into a stable orbit.

The rescue mission to boostSwiftfailed just a few weeks after launchingLINK in early July as the satellite spun out of control in space.

“From the beginning, this was a high-risk, high-reward mission,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, Astrophysics Division director at NASA, in a statement. “Without intervention, Swift was going to re-enter the atmosphere by year’s end.”

But NASA and Katalyst say LINK’s modified mission was not a wasted effort, with bothgroups learning lessons that could aid future space operations.

“And while we’ll be sad to see Swift’s mission come to a close, we knew this boost effort would be valuable to the agency on multiple levels — advancing U.S. spacecraft servicing technology, challenging us to meet unprecedented mission timelines, and testing how we operate satellites to extend their time in low Earth orbit,” Domagal-Goldman further stated. “We’re very proud of how quickly this team got so far, and we’re capturing lessons learned to ensure we’re ready to go even farther.”

A modified mission

Katalyst decided to forge ahead with its plan for LINK to rendezvous with Swift in mid-August, but as a demonstration rather than a rescue because of LINK’s ongoing orientation issues in space.

While Katalyst’s engineers were able to use the satellite’s thrusters to slow its unexpected spin and upload new flight software, the maneuverthat reoriented LINK in space also depleted its propellant.

“As a result, Katalyst and NASA together determined that LINK no longer had sufficient fuel to safely execute the planned capture and orbit-raising phase of the mission,” according to Katalyst.

The satellite came within 7.5 to 9 miles (12 to 15 kilometers) of Swift the first week of September, practicing how a futureservicing mission may approach a satellite or telescope — especially one like Swift, which wasn’t designed to be serviced in space.

LINK also deployed its three robotic arms, which were originally intended to grab Swift, and fired its three electric propulsion thrusters.

The satellite operated in space for 85 days before reentering Earth’s atmosphere on September 25, according to Katalyst.

“LINK was built to take on a problem that did not have an easy solution,” said Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space. “While we did not accomplish every objective we set out to achieve, in less than a year we went from mission concept to launching and operating the first commercial space robot. This is a foundation we can build on.”

Katalyst will apply data and lessons from LINK’s mission to its next generation of spacecraft that could be used to service existing missions in space.

“The future of space will require spacecraft that can do more once they get there. We’re building toward that future,” Lee said.

Last glimpses of the cosmos

The Swift Observatory, which does not have an established observational replacement waiting in the wings, has served as an astrophysics multitool in low-Earth orbit since it launched in November 2004.

Swift’s mission scientists have slowly been turning the telescope’s instruments back on to collect data and make observations right up until the end — which is actually accelerating the observatory’s decline.

The instruments were shut off for months to reduce power use and keep Swift from sinking.

Swift was steadily losing altitude due to atmospheric drag, which was only magnified by an increase in solar activity over the past couple of years as the sun reached the peak of its 11-year cycle in 2024.

Intense flares and coronal mass ejections caused Earth’s atmosphere to expand, which intensified the drag on Swift, leading scientists to predict it would descend toward our planet in the fall, according to NASA.

“When Neil Gehrels, Swift’s namesake, designed the observatory, nothing like it had ever launched,” said S. Bradley Cenko, Swift’s principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “He would have celebrated that this boost effort was part of Swift’s legacy, that it allowed NASA to try something new and daring even though the outcome wasn’t guaranteed.”

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