Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission consists of an unmanned spacecraft called Swift, which launched into orbit on November 20, 2004, at 17:16:00 UTC (12:16 PM, EST) on top of a Delta 2 rocket. It is managed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.
Overview
Swift is a multi-wavelength space-based observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical wavebands. This mission is part of NASA's "Medium Explorer program" and the satellite was developed by an international consortium from the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy.
During its nominal mission of two years about 200 GRBs should be observed. A dedicated telescope will be used to locate the position of each event with an accuracy of 1 to 4 arc-minutes within 15 seconds. The satellite is then able to reorient itself automatically in about 20 to 75 seconds to point all of its instruments at the burst location. This ability is the reason for the mission's name "Swift."