A long-running NASA mission has come to an unfortunate end. According to the administration , the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (abbreviated to "the Swift") made its final observation on October 20, 2026, approximately two months after a planned rescue mission was scrubbed. Following more than 20 years of research, in the coming weeks, it will reenter the atmosphere and burn up, as have other decommissioned satellites.

The Swift's demise was caused by increased solar activity, which heats the atmosphere and increases atmospheric drag, speeding up a satellite's orbital decay. In plain English, that means the satellite is falling toward the Earth faster than it would under typical solar conditions.…