NASA's Swift satellite flew over Indonesia, crashed into the atmosphere at 22 times the speed of sound and burned up

The Swift Observatory, which has been exploring the extreme explosions of the universe for 22 years, has fallen into the atmosphere and burned up. The picture shows Swift undergoing preparations before launch in Florida in 2004. (AFP)

The "Swift" space satellite telescope of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which has been in service for 22 years, fell into the atmosphere above Indonesia at about 22 times the speed of sound on Wednesday (4th) after the rescue mission failed.

According to comprehensive foreign media reports, this 1.5-ton observatory, which cost US$500 million and weighed 1.5 tons, was launched in 2004. Its original design life was only 2 years, but it eventually exceeded the standard and served for 22 years. "Swift" specializes in observing the most powerful gamma-ray bursts in the universe. It has also recorded thousands of rare astronomical anomalies such as supernova explosions and black holes devouring stars, and has spawned about 7,000 scientific papers.

"Swift" itself is not equipped with a propulsion system. In recent years, affected by strong solar activity, its orbital altitude has continued to decrease. In July this year, NASA commissioned a private space startup to launch a special rescue spacecraft in an attempt to intercept it in space and push it to a safe orbit. Unexpectedly, the rescue vehicle spun out of control after takeoff and crashed in September, forcing the authorities to give up the rescue.

According to NASA, the U.S. Space Force confirmed that Swift reentered the atmosphere at 7:39 a.m. Eastern Time on the 4th (8:39 p.m. on the 4th, Taiwan time). At that time, the satellite passed through the upper atmosphere over North Sumatra, Indonesia, at about 22 times the speed of sound, and was approximately 322 kilometers north of the equator.

NASA said that it was originally expected that the frictional heat generated during re-entry into the atmosphere would burn most of the satellites well above the surface, and only a few fragments would survive the fall. There are currently no reports of damage to the ground or injuries caused by falling fragments. The Space Force had previously calculated that the risk to densely populated areas was extremely low, estimating that the chance of harm to anyone on Earth was only 1 in 2,100.

The report also mentioned that the Hubble Space Telescope (Hubble), launched in 1990, is also facing the threat of solar storms weakening its orbit. The latest assessment shows that without intervention, it may crash in the mid-2030s.