Plate Nº 14 · recorded October 10, 2026
Space & AstronomyReported finding
NASA's Swift Telescope Is Back — but It May Have Just Weeks Left
Swift's UV/optical and X-ray telescopes resumed work on Aug. 26, but after a failed orbit-boost mission, NASA expects the observatory to sink below 185 miles within one to two months.
By Elena Vasquez3 min read606 words
In brief
- Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope and X-ray Telescope resumed science operations on Aug. 26, 2026.
- NASA and Katalyst Space abandoned the LINK capture-and-boost mission on Aug. 19 after LINK developed orientation-control problems.
- The observatory is expected to fall below the 185-mile (300 km) operating threshold within one to two months.
- Swift has operated for 21 years and detects fast, transient cosmic events across multiple wavelengths.
- The Burst Alert Telescope has been offline since April and should resume data collection within weeks.
Two of Swift's three telescopes switched back on Wednesday, Aug. 26 — but NASA estimates the aging observatory may drop below a critical operating altitude within one to two months, ending a rescue plan that collapsed earlier in August.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory resumed observations with its Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope and X-ray Telescope after both instruments sat dormant since February. NASA had shut them down deliberately, to reduce atmospheric drag on the spacecraft and buy time while the agency prepared a possible orbital boost. The third instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope, remains offline for now. NASA stopped using it in April to cut the spacecraft's power needs, and the team expects to return it to data collection within the next few weeks.
Why does atmospheric drag threaten a space telescope?
For 21 years, Swift has ranked among NASA's most versatile observatories. It studies the universe across multiple wavelengths of light and specializes in sudden, short-lived cosmic events. When it detects an outburst, the spacecraft can rapidly turn toward the source and alert other observatories on the ground and in space. That quick response lets astronomers gather follow-up observations before fleeting events fade away.
Swift's weakness is its home in low Earth orbit. Even hundreds of miles up, traces of Earth's atmosphere persist. Those thin upper layers drag on the spacecraft, gradually slowing it and pulling its orbit downward. Swift carries no propulsion system capable of raising its orbit, so it cannot fight the effect directly.
What made the problem worse?
Recent solar activity turned a slow decline into an urgent one. When the Sun is more active, extra energy heats Earth's atmosphere and pushes its outer layers farther into space. That expansion increases drag on satellites in low Earth orbit, and for Swift it meant a faster-than-expected loss of altitude.
NASA responded in September 2025 by contracting the company Katalyst Space to attempt something unusual: send another spacecraft to Swift, capture it, and lift the observatory into a higher orbit. Katalyst had one year to design, build, test and launch a spacecraft called LINK, then guide it to Swift and perform the boost.
What went wrong with the rescue mission?
LINK launched in July aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket. Later that month, the spacecraft developed problems controlling its orientation. On Aug. 19, NASA and Katalyst announced that LINK would no longer attempt to capture and raise Swift.
The mission is not ending entirely. Katalyst still plans to bring LINK near Swift and carry out rendezvous and proximity operations. These maneuvers — one spacecraft approaching and working close to another — are intended to test technologies that could eventually support in-space satellite servicing on future missions.
How much time does Swift have left?
NASA had previously estimated that Swift's low-drag operating mode would keep the observatory above 185 miles (300 kilometers) until October. That altitude marks an important threshold: once Swift falls below it, operating the telescope becomes more difficult, and the spacecraft is expected to lose altitude even faster as drag increases.
Now that observations have resumed, the team expects Swift to reach that milestone within the next one to two months — roughly on the earlier timeline rather than the October estimate.
Until then, the observatory is back to watching the universe and gathering as much science as possible while its orbit continues to decline. The repowered Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope and X-ray Telescope will spend those remaining weeks doing what Swift has done for more than two decades: catching cosmic outbursts fast, and telling the world where to look before they disappear.
via ScienceDaily: Space & Time (Source)
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