History of Swift
From the original NASA proposal in 1998 through launch in November 2004 and into normal science operations, this page documents the people, places, and milestones that brought Swift to life.
- Proposal, selection, and development at Penn State and partner institutions.
- Instrument integration and calibration at Goddard Space Flight Center.
- Launch on 20 November 2004 and early orbit checkout.
Note: Preserved web page — please forgive formatting.
NASA Competition for Medium Explorer Missions (1998)
NASA Announcement of Opportunity TBD — Title of Swift 1998 proposal ~Introductory Paragraph~
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Penn State's X-Ray Astronomy Research Group |
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| Proposal to NASA for Swift |
Swift Selected as Finalist (February 1999)
TBD — Penn State or College of Science newsletter headline
Swift Selected for Launch (September 1999)
| Penn State's Swift Proposal Team at NASA/GSFC for Final Presentation |  |
Swift Song TBD — Penn State or College of Science newsletter headline
Growing Pains (1999 – 2002)
Davey Laboratory
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Swift "Mission Ops Center" |
Bristol Park Building #1
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| XRT Clean Room |
Bristol Park Building #2 Bristol Park Building #3 Building #3 Expansion for L&EO
ASI-NASA Conference at the San Marco Station, Malindi, Kenya (December 2000)
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| 10 meter ASI antennas and University of Rome | |
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| Off-shore Launch Platform | Getting onto the Launch Platform |
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| Bay by Ground Station |
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Sign for Local Internet Company — Swift |
Launches from Malindi included Uhuru [date], Ariel V [date], and SAS-3 [date]
Design & Development
XRT UVOT BAT GNEST GNEST GNEST
Women Team Members
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Scientists |
| Engineers/Managers |  |
XRT Integration at Goddard Space Flight Center
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| Installing Flight Mirrors | |
| XRT Telescope Tube Integration |  |
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XRT in Clean Tent |
UVOT's Arrival at Goddard Space Flight Center
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| UVOT in its Shipping Crate |
BAT Integration at Goddard Space Flight Center
BAT in Clean Tent Positioning Test Source BAT with Cooling System BAT Team at Consoles Hurricane
XRT Calibration at Max Planck Institute's Panter Facility (October 2002)
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| Arrival and Unloading | ||
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Focal Plane Camera Assembly in Clean Room |
| Positioning XRT in Vacuum Chamber |  |
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| XRT Team in Facility Control Room | |
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| Bernried | |
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| Maypole in Neuried |
UVOT Calibration at Goddard Space Flight Center (November 2002)
UVOT in Vacuum Chamber UVOT Team in Facility Control Room Grism or Spot Grid Image
"Shake & Bake" Testing
Vibration, Thermal, Electromagnetic Resonance/Interference, & related testing.
XRT in EMI Chamber Observatory in Vibration Chamber
Swift Integration & Testing at Goddard Space Flight Center
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UVOT in Hubble Space Telescope Cleanroom (SSDIF) |
| UVOT Being Lowered into Position |  |
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XRT next to UVOT on Spacecraft |
BAT in Position Cabling/Blanketing/etc.
Thermal Vacuum Testing (May 2004)
| Space Environment Simulator (Thermal Vacuum Test Chamber) |  |
 XRT area |
 UVOT area |
| TVAC Testing | |
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| Mini-MOC |
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Thermal Vacuum Testing Profile |
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| Mission Simulations | |
Preparation for Launch (October – November 2004)
Swift in Fairing Hurricane Delays ×3 Swift on Delta II
Swift Launch (20 November 2004)
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| Launch | ||
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| Launch | Fairing Release | Second Stage Separation |
MOC Team at Separation
Launch & Early Orbit Checkout
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Thanksgiving at the MOC |
Spectrum Astro Room XRT Door Opened XRT First Light UVOT Door Opened UVOT First Light BAT Cave BAT "First Light" First BAT Detection of a GRB First BAT Trigger on a Confirmed GRB Spacecraft Bus Acceptance Review First Target of Opportunity First XRT Detection of a GRB First UVOT Image of GRB Field First UVOT Detection of a GRB
Normal Operations Begin
"Lights Out" — A Day in the Life of Swift
Recent Significant Achievements
Supernovae: SN2005am, cf, cs Short GRB "Swift Transient"
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Comet Tempel |
What's New at the MOC • A Day in the Life of Swift • Mission Home • Education and Outreach