The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a space telescope that NASA previously attempted but failed to rescue, is expected to fall back to Earth today (November 4), with officials stating there is no possibility of it hitting the Korean Peninsula.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) announced that, according to an analysis by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), Swift is projected to re-enter the atmosphere at around 8:46 PM today, adding that the chances of it striking the Korean Peninsula are nil.

The margin of error is plus or minus two hours.

The U.S. Combined Space Operations Center predicted the re-entry at around 7:47 PM today, while the European Space Agency (ESA) estimated it at around 9:00 PM today.

The Swift space telescope is a 1.5-ton satellite launched in 2004 to observe gamma-ray bursts.

Its operations ended on October 20 after performing missions for about 22 years.

Since then, its altitude has gradually decreased in an uncontrolled state, and it is currently orbiting Earth at an altitude between 199 and 205 kilometers.

The Swift space telescope has an orbital inclination of 20.5 degrees, meaning it passes only over regions between 20.5 degrees south latitude and 20.5 degrees north latitude.

Orbital inclination is the angle that a satellite's orbit makes with the equator, which determines the maximum latitude the satellite can reach north and south.

Consequently, the Korean Peninsula, located north of 33 degrees north latitude, is not included in the potential impact zone.

Most of the body is expected to burn up in the atmosphere, but some tungsten components will survive and fall into the ocean.

A wide area including parts of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America is expected to be the debris impact zone.

NASA signed a contract with startup Catalyst Space Technology this year to launch a rescue spacecraft called Link into space to raise Swift's orbit, but the mission failed after Link went out of control.

KASA added that, considering this is an uncontrolled re-entry of a large satellite, it will continue to monitor the situation alongside the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute until the re-entry is complete.

(Photo provided by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Yonhap News)