NASA telescope is plunging back to Earth after 22 years in orbit
An aging NASA telescope is barely clinging to space after a failed rescue effort left it tottering lower and lower. The space agency said Monday it predicts the Swift Observatory will likely come crashing down on Wednesday.
Most of the 1 ½-ton telescope is expected to burn up in the atmosphere. But a handful of pieces made of denser-than-lead tungsten and some mirror parts could survive reentry, according to NASA's Brad Cenko, the mission's chief scientist.
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