Share to ClassroomNASA Telescope Falls Toward Earth
NASA (the US space group) said its old Swift telescope would fall to Earth. This was expected on Wednesday, 4 November. Most of it should burn up in the air. But a few metal parts may not burn. These pieces will most likely land in the sea. NASA says the chance of anyone getting hurt is very small.
Swift went into space in 2004. It looked for huge flashes of energy in space. It was made to work for only two years. But it worked for more than 20 years! The Sun pulled it down faster than usual. A company sent a robot to help, but the robot failed. In October, NASA turned it off.
Swift found more than 2,000 of these flashes. It also found 1,400 exploding stars. It helped other big telescopes know where to look. Scientists are still looking for a way to replace it.
