Nearly 1,500kg NASA spaceship could come crashing back to Earth within hours

Retired NASA observatory set for fiery return

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory weighs close to 1,500kg, and estimates put the risk at around one in 2,500.

Most of the spacecraft is expected to disintegrate as it hits the atmosphere, but some pieces could make it to the ground. 

Astrophysicist and IFLScience space and physics editor Dr Alfredo Carpineti told Metro that any surviving debris should land within 21 degrees of the equator.

“It won’t land in your garden,” he said, stressing that the reentry zone covers a vast area, much of it over the ocean.

The spacecraft’s possible path crosses parts of Africa, Central and South America, Asia and Australia, according to The Aerospace Corporation. 

However, the broad stretch of ocean beneath its trajectory means the likelihood of debris hitting populated land remains low.

Swift spent 20 years studying cosmic explosions

Swift has been in orbit since November 20, 2004, despite being designed for a mission lasting just two years.

It spent more than two decades circling around 370 miles above Earth, studying gamma-ray bursts, intense flashes of energy linked to some of the universe’s most violent events, including collisions between stars.

Nasa made an attempt to extend the observatory’s life with a rescue craft about the size of a fridge, launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.

The mission failed after bad weather and a malfunction in July.

The agency shut Swift down last month, leaving it to gradually lose altitude before its return. 

As it plunges through the atmosphere, the observatory is expected to break apart into flaming debris, bringing its unusually long mission to an end.

Image credit: NASA