A NASA space telescope plunged back down to Earth on Wednesday, marking the end of its 22-year study of the universe and its biggest explosions.
The telescope was launched into orbit in 2004 on what was expected to be a two-year study of gamma ray bursts and exploding stars, according to the Associated Press. But the mission lasted more than 10 times longer than expected and served as a first responder for telescopes that could probe deeper.
The U.S. Space Force confirmed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory's reentry near Indonesia after tracking its sinking orbit, which happened faster than was expected.
A rescue operation to save the telescope was launched in July but the Katalyst Space's three-armed robotic craft ran into trouble and came crashing down in September.
It was not immediately clear how much of the 1½-ton spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere, but NASA believes some of its more dense pieces survived reentry.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
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