Orbital Swift - Manual

Astrophysics
Mission Description
Swift is a NASA Mid-size Explorer (MIDEX) orbiting observatory that detects Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB)
events and “swiftly” slews itself (within tens of seconds) to focus directly on the event with multi-spectral
instruments that provide accurate burst location and other key data for an international science team.
Swift carries three customer-furnished instruments: The Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), the X-Ray
Telescope, (XRT), and the Ultra Violet Optical Telescope (UVOT).
When a GRB is detected and located, the coordinates are downlinked via TDRSS to enable concurrent
observation using ground-based and other space-based assets.
Within the first 16 months of its 2-year mission Swift precisely located more GRBs than those of all
previous missions combined. At the completion of the scheduled mission in December 2006, the Swift
spacecraft bus had provided a net mission availability of 99.2 percent and the mission was extended.
Swift continues to provide data with a bus net mission availability of nearly 96 percent.
The Swift Mission Operations Center is located at the Penn State University Department of Astronomy
and Astrophysics.
Spacecraft
Orbital designed and manufactured the fully-redundant Swift spacecraft bus for NASA, and served in a
leadership role at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) during instrument integration, environmental
testing, launch, early orbit check-out, and initial mission operations. Orbital continues to provide
sustaining engineering support to the mission.
• Launched November 20, 2004 on a
Delta 7320-10 from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, Florida
• 600 x 600 km @ 20.6 ° inclination, Low
Earth Orbit mission
• Observatory automatically slews to
point at gamma ray source within
seconds of the onset of the Gamma
Ray Burst (GRB)
• Swift successfully completed its two
year mission in December 2006 and
continues to provide on-orbit GRB data
• Three payload telescopes: Burst Alert,
X-Ray, and UV Optical
• Simple, easily integrated design based
on Orbital's flight-proven LEOStar ™ -3
modular spacecraft architecture that
reduces assembly and test time
Customers:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Penn State University
FACTS AT A GLANCE
Swift
Space-based Gamma-Ray Observatory
LEO