Follow-up: Swift Observatory Has Re-Entered the Atmosphere: Space Force Confirms 7:39 a.m. EST Re-Entry Over North Sumatra, Indonesia
NASA updated its Swift mission blog on November 4 to confirm that the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory re-entered Earth's atmosphere that day, closing out nearly 22 years in orbit. GSM previously reported that the roughly 3,200-pound spacecraft was expected to re-enter around November 4, with the U.S. Space Force initially predicting re-entry at approximately 3:30 a.m. EST, give or take 11 hours.
The U.S. Space Force confirmed that the Swift spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere at 7:39 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 4, over the North Sumatra region of Indonesia, at approximately 3.4 degrees north latitude and 98.6 degrees east longitude. NASA said it expected most of the spacecraft to burn up as it traveled through the atmosphere, but some components may have survived re-entry.
Swift launched in 2004 and was originally designed for a two-year prime mission. At launch, it was a first-of-its-kind multiwavelength observatory designed to study the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, gamma-ray bursts, using its three telescopes.
During more than two decades of science operations, Swift served as a multi-tool for exploring the universe: observing a wide range of light, rapidly pointing at short-lived outbursts, and sending alerts to other facilities to help coordinate follow-up observations. It broadened our understanding of a wide variety of cosmic objects and events, from active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes and stars undergoing X-ray flares, to supernova explosions and comets and asteroids in our own solar system.
Source: NASA
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Neil Gehrels Swift天文台航天器模型图。图片来源：美国航天局NASA，公共领域，经Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Model of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory spacecraft. NASA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-04Follow-up: Swift Observatory Has Re-Entered the Atmosphere: Space Force Confirms 7:39 a.m. EST Re-Entry Over North Sumatra, IndonesiaThis story
