NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is set to re-enter the atmosphere after 22 years in orbit

2 November 2026

NASA has said its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will re-enter Earth's atmosphere after ending operations.
The satellite was launched in 2004 and carried three telescopes working at different wavelengths on one spacecraft.
It was designed for a prime mission of two years and was built to catch gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions known in the universe.
Swift could turn quickly towards a short-lived outburst and send alerts to other observatories so they could follow it up.
Over its life it widened understanding of active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, stars giving off X-ray flares, supernova explosions and comets and asteroids in the solar system.
Re-entry is expected on 4 November, with the United States Space Force predicting a time of about half past three in the morning Eastern Standard Time, within an uncertainty of eleven hours.
The spacecraft weighs about 3,200 pounds and NASA expects most of it to burn up, though some components may survive.
Any surviving pieces would fall between 20.6 degrees south and 20.6 degrees north latitude, and NASA puts the risk of harm to a person on Earth at about one in 2,100.