EQUIPThe Verge · 1h ago
A truck-sized NASA space telescope is about to crash to Earth
Executive Brief
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NASA expects the Swift Observatory to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this Wednesday following failed orbit correction maneuvers. Operations teams should monitor potential aerospace disruptions during the projected 22-hour re-entry window centered at 3:30 AM ET.
- 01NASA confirms the truck-sized space telescope will fall back to Earth after 22 years in orbit
- 02Current projections place atmospheric re-entry at approximately 3:30 AM ET this Wednesday
- 03The reentry window includes a margin of error of 11 hours in either direction
- 04Recent attempts to boost the aging observatory into a sustainable higher orbit were unsuccessful
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Almost 22 years after it was launched, NASA's Swift Observatory is now about to fall back to Earth on Wednesday after attempts to push it back into a higher orbit failed. NASA announced that the aging space telescope is anticipated to re-enter Earth's atmosphere at approximately 3:30AM ET (give or take 11 hours) and that […]