NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has gone into safe mode after one of the spacecraft's three gyroscopes showed signs of deterioration.
Urgent: Hubble gyroscope failure triggers science shutdown
The fix will require a software update for the spacecraft to continue with its two remaining gyros.
Launched in 2004 for a planned two-year mission, the spacecraft is designed to study gamma ray bursts (GRBs). It was originally called the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer but was later renamed after its principal investigator, Neil Gehrels.
As with several other NASA missions—such as Chandra—Swift's future is uncertain. Although a 2022 Senior Review panel deemed Swift the highest-ranking satellite among operational missions other than Hubble and Chandra, its extended mission operations only run through FY2025. NASA will conduct the next Senior Review in the spring of next year.
