Science
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite
Catalogued as SWAS
Submillimeter Astronomy · NASA / Smithsonian
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
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SWAS hunted for water in the spaces between the stars. Launched in 1998 and designed to last three years, it worked so well NASA kept it running until 2005. Its most striking find: molecular clouds contain far less water and oxygen than theorists predicted, forcing a rethink of how stars and planets are born. It also watched comet Tempel 1 up close during NASA's Deep Impact mission.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 335–337 mi (539–543 km)
- Inclination
- 69.9°
- One orbit
- 95.3 minutes15.1 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 25560
- Int’l designator
- 1998-071A
- Launched
- 1998
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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