NASA is racing to save an aging space telescope before it burns up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere. To do that, the space agency has recently limited the mission\u2019s operations in orbit to keep it from moving around so much.<\/p>\n
NASA suspended most of Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory\u2019s science operations on Wednesday in an effort to reduce the effects of atmospheric drag on the spacecraft and slow down its orbital decay, the space agency announced<\/a>. Swift is due for an orbit boost, with a mission planned for later this summer set to raise it to a higher altitude. In the meantime, NASA is working on keeping Swift from dropping further.<\/p>\n On hold <\/p>\n Swift launched into low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on November 20, 2004. The satellite is designed to study the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, known as gamma-ray bursts. It does so using three on-board telescopes,\u00a0collecting data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light.<\/p>\n In order to keep the spacecraft in an orientation that minimizes drag effects, NASA has put some of Swift\u2019s science activities on hold. \u201cNormally, Swift quickly turns to view its targets \u2014 especially the fleeting, almost daily explosions called gamma-ray bursts \u2014 with multiple telescopes,\u201d S. Bradley Cenko, the mission\u2019s principal investigator at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement. \u201cSwift\u2019s Burst Alert Telescope will continue to detect gamma-ray bursts, but the spacecraft will no longer slew to observe targets with its other telescopes.\u201d<\/p>\n Gradual decay <\/p>\n In the two decades since it launched, Swift has gradually lost altitude. This happens to all satellites over time. Due to recent spikes in solar activity, however, Swift has been experiencing more atmospheric drag than originally anticipated. At its current rate, the observatory has a 50% chance of uncontrolled reentry by mid-2026.<\/p>\n