NASA calls off rescue effort to save doomed telescope

The Swift observatory will now re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in a few months, after a mission to boost it higher failed

NASA had hoped to prevent its Swift observatory from breaking apart in Earth’s atmosphere. But the spacecraft tasked with the rescue hit problems.

NASA’s Swift Observatory, which studies some of the most powerful explosions in the universe, is expected to burn up in the atmosphere.

A rendering of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Image: NASA NASA is calling off an attempt to save a space observatory falling out of orbit, dooming it to a fiery death in Earth's atmosphere. Why it matters: The Swift Boost Mission was an ambitious effort to rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and demonstrate