NASA’s Swift observatory is scheduled for launch Wednesday, Nov. 17. Liftoff aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is targeted at 12:09 p.m., EST, the opening of a one-hour launch window. Liftoff is from Pad 17-A on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Fla. If postponed the next launch opportunity is 12:09 p.m. EST, Nov. 18.
Swift is a NASA spacecraft designed to pinpoint the location of gamma-ray bursts. It can quickly turn and point its instruments to catch the gamma-ray burst. Swift can study both the burst and its afterglow. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions known in the universe, distant yet fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes.
The bursts last from only a few milliseconds to a few minutes. They emit more than 100 billion times as much energy. as the sun annually, never to appear in the same spot again. The afterglow following the initial gamma-ray flash can linger in X-ray light, visible light and radio waves for hours or weeks, providing detailed information about the burst.