NASA’s Swift Telescope Is Expected to Fall to Earth on Nov. 4

NASA expects its Swift Observatory to fall back through the atmosphere on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The U.S. Space Force’s Monday forecast was about 3:30 a.m. EST, give or take 11 hours, and NASA said it would keep updating the prediction. As of this writing, no re-entry has been reported.

Most of the roughly 3,200-pound spacecraft should burn up. NASA said some components may survive and could land only between 20.6 degrees south and 20.6 degrees north latitude. CBS News reported that a handful of dense pieces, such as tungsten parts and mirror components, could survive, most likely landing in the ocean. NASA put the risk of harm to anyone at approximately 1 in 2,100.

Swift launched in 2004 and, CBS reported, detected more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts. A rescue attempt by the startup Katalyst, described by France 24 as a $30 million mission, failed because the rescue spacecraft could not be controlled. John Nousek, a Penn State astronomer who led the control team, told CBS that the spacecraft’s fall was foreseen before launch and that anything in low-Earth orbit eventually “must come down.” Predictions may shift.