NASA restarts Swift telescope after failed rescue, but its future is far from certain

Earlier this yr, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory spent months in a low-drag configuration whereas ready for an orbital rescue mission. That rescue mission in the end did not undergo. However now, the area company has shared that Swift switched on two of its three science instruments. As per NASA, the X-ray Telescope and the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope at the moment are gathering information once more.

However the third instrument, which is the Burst Alert Telescope, stays offline for now. Updating on this, NASA shared in an official statement, “Use of the third instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope, was halted in April to scale back energy consumption so Swift’s photo voltaic panels may very well be positioned to additional cut back drag. The staff is working to return it to information assortment within the subsequent few weeks.”

Why did NASA shut down Swift’s devices?

Again in February 2026, mission controllers purposely shut down two of Swift’s devices to provide it extra lifespan. With this, the area company’s objective was to chop drag and preserve Swift in orbit for longer. This might preserve the spacecraft flying lengthy sufficient so {that a} rescue mission may finally attain it and nudge it right into a safer orbit. 

In April, the staff went a step additional and paused the Burst Alert Telescope too, which allow them to angle Swift’s photo voltaic panels in a method that reduce down on atmospheric resistance much more. Commenting on the importance of this telescope, NASA shared, “Over the past 21 years, Swift has been NASA’s multitool for finding out the cosmos. It observes a variety of sunshine, quickly factors at short-lived outbursts, and sends alerts to different services in area and on the bottom to assist coordinate follow-up observations.” 

What went unsuitable with NASA’s rescue spacecraft, LINK?

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched in 2004 for a two-year mission that might examine gamma-ray bursts. As an alternative, the observatory has spent greater than 20 years monitoring a number of the most violent and fleeting occasions within the universe, then tipping off different telescopes around the globe to allow them to look too. Extra not too long ago, although, the observatory confronted intense photo voltaic exercise that created a robust atmospheric drag that pulled the growing older area telescope right into a quickly decaying orbit. Nevertheless, the rescue mission, which relied on a robotic servicing spacecraft known as LINK, failed to put it aside. 

Late in July, LINK bumped into attitude-control bother that despatched it spinning and knocked out communication with floor groups. Two of its three response wheels stopped working, and its cold-gas thruster system misplaced a few of its performance as effectively. On Aug. 19, NASA and Katalyst confirmed that LINK would not attempt to seize and raise Swift in spite of everything. As an alternative, the spacecraft will now attempt to fly near Swift and run proximity operations.

What comes subsequent for Swift?

This yr, the elevated photo voltaic exercise has triggered the Earth’s higher ambiance to warmth additional. This has dragged the orbit of Swift down quicker than what engineers anticipated. Due to these low-drag measures, NASA projected that Swift would keep above roughly 185 miles till October. 

Now that science operations have resumed and the deliberate orbital enhance is off the desk, NASA expects that Swift will attain the important threshold throughout the subsequent one to 2 months. If that occurs, the growing older observatory will doubtless fall again to Earth late this yr, and most of its components will burn throughout reentry. 

Extra on Starlust

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope just adjusted its course in space—here’s how to track it in real time

Inside Artemis III: A look at how astronauts are training for NASA’s ambitious mission