After 22 years in space, NASA’s 3,200-pound Swift space telescope crashes back to Earth over Indonesia after failed $30 million rescue mission; agency estimates 1-in-2,100 risk of debris harming someone
NASA’s 3,200-pound Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has plunged back to Earth after nearly 22 years in orbit, bringing an end to a mission that transformed scientists’ understanding of some of the universe’s most powerful explosions. The space telescope re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over northern Sumatra, Indonesia, on November 4, 2026, after a failed attempt to save…
