Swift

Launch data: Designation  28485 / 04047A Launch date  20 Nov 2004 - 17:16 UT Launch site  CC, SLC-17A Launch vehicle  Delta-7320-10C Mission  Astronomy: gamma ray burst studies Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  584 x 604 km Eccentricity   Inclination  20.56° Period  96.0 min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• The Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer is a three-telescope space observatory for studying gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring the afterglow in X-ray, and UV/Visible light at the location of a burst. Burst detection rate is expected to be greater than 100 per year, with a sensitivity ~3 times fainter than the BATSE detector aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The Swift mission has a nominal on-orbit lifetime of 2 years.
• The Swift satellite, launched in 2004 to study gamma ray bursts, was renamed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory on Jan 10, 2018 to honour the late Neil Gehrels (1952-2017), who was the mission′s originator and principal investigator.

External links:

• Satellite tracking: Real time satellite tracking