Summary

NASA's Swift observatory made its final observation on October 20 and is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in the next few weeks after a failed rescue attempt over the summer. Designed to study gamma-ray bursts, Swift was launched on November 20, 2004, on a two-year mission. It has lasted almost 22 years, but atmospheric drag is inexorably lowering the spacecraft's orbit, so reentry is likely just shy of the vehicle's 22nd anniversary. Swift has no propulsion system to save itself.

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