Engineers resume science observations with Gehrels-Swift
Because of the decision to cancel the Katalyst rescue attempt to the Gehrels-Swift space telescope because of thruster issues, engineers have now reoriented the telescope so as to resume science observations, even though that action will shorten its already short life.
The Swift team turned on the mission’s Ultraviolet/Optical and X-ray telescopes on Wednesday, Aug. 26. They were switched off in February to help minimize drag and extend the satellite’s time in orbit to support the boost effort. Use of the third instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope, was halted in April to reduce power consumption so Swift’s solar panels could be positioned to further reduce drag. The team is working to return it to data collection in the next few weeks.
This decision to resume science means the telescope’s orbit will drop below 185 miles sooner, where it will become difficult to operate and will soon fall back to Earth. According to the press release, this could now happen before October.
The decision makes sense. Scientists might as well utilize Gehrels-Swift for science while it is in space.
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