One of NASA’s premier space telescopes plunged to Earth on Wednesday, ending its 22-year investigation of the universe’s biggest explosions. The Swift Observatory’s demise came less than three months after a long-shot rescue mission failed.

A spacecraft built by space startup Katalyst Space that will tow NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory into a higher orbit awaits encapsulation aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia,

The Swift Observatory is expected in the coming days to plummet back to Earth, with some it potentially surviving the fiery descent. What to know.

Most of the spacecraft will burn up as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere. Some of the bigger, heavier pieces, however, are expected to survive all the way to the surface on its reentry.