NASA's Swift Space Telescope is set to crash back to Earth this week
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Don't Look Up: After spending more than 20 years in space, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is now expected to undergo a "catastrophic" reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Most of the telescope should burn up during the process, but a few surviving pieces could eventually reach the ground and pose a risk to people.
The Swift Observatory could plunge back to Earth as early as this Friday, US authorities said. The telescope is expected to undergo an uncontrolled reentry after NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies tried – and failed – to correct the spacecraft's orbit using a robotic device in September.
According to US Space Force predictions, the Swift Observatory should burn up in the atmosphere during reentry. A few components, including tungsten-made parts and mirrors, might survive the atmospheric plunge and eventually...
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