NASA's Swift telescope made final atmospheric descent over Sumatra
NASA's Swift space telescope, which launched back in 2004 to study cosmic explosions, made its final descent into Earth's atmosphere over northern Sumatra on November 4, 2026.
Originally built for just a two-year mission, Swift kept going for an impressive 22 years before a last-ditch rescue effort couldn't save it.
Swift spotted 2,000+ GRBs 1,400 supernovas
Swift spotted over 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 supernovas, game-changing discoveries for astrophysics.
NASA awarded Katalyst Space the contract in September 2025, and Katalyst launched the LINK servicing spacecraft in July 2026; the planned boost failed in 2026 when LINK suffered propulsion and reaction-wheel problems and later crashed on Sept. 25, 2026.
As we launch more satellites than ever, Swift's end is also a reminder that managing space junk is becoming a bigger challenge.