The 17-year-old Swift space observatory is a workhorse for gamma-ray burst discovery. It has the ability to take images with three telescopes that sprawl the electromagnetic spectrum from gamma rays to visual wavelengths. This allows it to spot events in high-energy gamma-ray light and then identify their exact location precisely with the X-ray and visual/ultraviolet telescopes.

With age, spacecraft wear out, and it looks like one of the six reaction wheels on board has finally worn out, and the spacecraft has entered safe mode. Reaction wheels are used to point space telescopes, and over the years, NASA has expertly gotten past missions to work on as few as two reaction wheels. It is hoped that Swift will similarly be able to get back to work and continue its amazing science quickly.

While Swift struggles, we see JWST preparing to hit its next big milestone: arriving at its destination, the gravitational sweet point beyond Earth where the pulls of the Sun and Earth will allow it to pace us in orbit around the Sun. On Monday, JWST will fire its engines to make its final course corrections into its parking orbit in this busy spot full of missions including Gaia, Planck, and the now quiet Herschel.

More Information

NASA’s Swift Observatory in Safe Mode – Team Investigating Possible Reaction Wheel Failure (SciTechDaily)

NASA to Discuss Webb’s Arrival at Final Destination, Next Steps (NASA)