Rescue mission failed - NASA satellite crashes to Earth

Rescue mission failed NASA satellite crashes to Earth As of: November 5th, 2026 • 9:15 a.m

The Swift satellite had been studying huge bursts of energy in the universe for years, so-called gamma-ray bursts. The mission was so important that NASA launched a rescue mission when there were problems - to no avail.

After a rescue attempt by the US space agency NASA failed, an important research satellite fell out of its orbit and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere. The celestial observatory re-entered the Earth's atmosphere approximately over Indonesia, NASA said.

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The research satellite is the unmanned celestial observatory "Swift", which is equipped with three telescopes. It was launched into space from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in 2004 and had since then studied so-called gamma ray bursts - huge bursts of energy in the universe.

Although the satellite was in good condition, it began to wobble due to, among other things, strong geomagnetic storms triggered by solar outbursts.

Because of the central importance of the research data provided by "Swift", NASA decided on the unprecedented rescue mission at short notice. At the beginning of July, she sent the unmanned towed spacecraft “Link” from an atoll in the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific on the mission.

The spacecraft, which weighs around 400 kilograms and has three robotic arms, was supposed to approach the research satellite and return it to its original orbit. But then there was a problem with the controls of “Link” and the rescue attempt had to be abandoned.

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