NASA's Swift Telescope Set to Fall Back to Earth
NASA's aging Swift space telescope is expected to burn up as it falls back into Earth's atmosphere. A commercial rescue mission meant to save it has failed. Reports say the telescope is about to crash, and it is not clear yet where it will land.
Context
Context: Swift is a NASA space observatory launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts, which are powerful explosions in distant space. Most old satellites eventually re-enter the atmosphere and burn up, and space agencies track such falls closely.
Burning Potato score: 60%