Highlights of Swift's Decade of Discovery

Click download button to select from a range of sizes.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center This image and those that follow are drawings of the Swift spacecraft provided by the Orbital Space Sciences Corporation. Units are in inches.Credit: Orbital Space Science Corp. Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. For More InformationSee [http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-swift-satellite-marks-10-years-of-game-changing-astrophysics](http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-swift-satellite-marks-10-years-of-game-changing-astrophysics) Related pages

Scientists participating in NASA's Swift mission discuss the spacecraft, the science, and recall their personal experiences as members of the team.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. Over the past decade, NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Burst Explorer has proven itself to be one of the most versatile astrophysics missions ever flown. It remains the only satellite capable of precisely locating gamma-ray bursts -- the universe's most powerful explosions -- and monitoring them across a broad range of wavelengths using multiple instruments before they fade from view."Swift" isn't just a name -- it's a core capability, a part of the spacecraft's DNA. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) typically last less than a minute and Swift detects one event about twice a week. Once Swift observes a GRB, it automatically determines the blast's location, broadcasts the position to the astronomical community, and then turns toward the site to investigate with its own sensitive telescopes. In addition to its studies of GRBs, Swift conducts a wide array of observations of other astrophysical phenomena. A flexible planning system enables astronomers to request Swift "target-of-opportunity" (TOO) observations, which can be commanded from the ground in as little as 10 minutes, or set up monitoring programs to observe specific sources at time intervals ranging from minutes to months. The system can schedule up to 75 independent targets a day. Earlier this year, Swift ranked highly in NASA's 2014 Senior Review of Operating Missions and will continue its enormously productive scientific work through at least 2016. For More InformationSee [http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-swift-satellite-marks-10-years-of-game-changing-astrophysics/](http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-swift-satellite-marks-10-years-of-game-changing-astrophysics/) Related pages