Eberly College of Science | Swift Video Resources

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Swift Satellite

Swift Satellite

News About the Swift Satellite

	Reports from the Field
Penn State science writer Barbara Kennedy was at Cape Canaveral with John Nousek and other Penn State scientists for the launch of the Swift gamma-ray-burst observatory. This is a series of reports she has sent from the site about the launch.
Dispatch #1 : Tuesday, 16 November 2004
Dispatch #2: Wednesday, 17 November 2004
Dispatch #3: Thursday,18 November 2004
Dispatch #4: Friday, 19 November 2004
Dispatch #5: Saturday, 20 November 2004

Reports from the Mission Operations Center
Penn State science writer Dana Bauer was at the Mission Operations Center for the launch of the Swift satellite, and has sent this report:
Dispatch #1: Saturday, 20 November 2004

To view an informational video about the Swift mission, click here.

Video Resources for Reporters

John Nousek, Mission Director at the Swift Mission Operations Center, Talking About the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer Observatory

For a transcript of the entire interview with John Nousek, click here.

Video (53 seconds): The importance of speed and the challenges and opportunites that the demand for speed makes for the Mission Operations Center

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (12.7 MB).

Video (32 seconds): Why scientists at other observatories and in other research teams are eagerly looking to the Swift Mission Operations Center to provide new information about the universe

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (9.4 MB).

Video (43 seconds): How scientists can use the information from Swift to study the ancient and very distant universe

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (11.1 MB).

Video (70 seconds): The involvement of Penn State students at the Swift Observatory, and how students are benefitting from this experience

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (18.1 MB).

Video (40 seconds): The role of the Mission Operations Center in commanding Swift

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (10.6 MB).

Video (42 seconds): Swift will be sending data to astronomers throughout the world, including both astronomers at other research centers and amateur astronomers.

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (12 MB).

Video (72 seconds): The impact of the expected discovery of new gamma-ray bursts

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (19.8 MB).

Video (43 seconds): The connection between Swift and other space observatories and research programs, including the search for gravitational waves

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (10.3 MB).

Video (51 seconds): Suprises that might be discovered by Swift

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (16.5 MB).

Video (125 seconds): The Swift Observatory consists of three instruments: the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), the X-ray Telescope (XRT), and the Ultraviolet Optical Telescope (UVOT). Each instrument plays a distinct role in the detection of gamma ray bursts.

Click on image to watch QuickTime video.
(This video will open in a separate window.
It requires QuickTime, a free media player.)

To download a video to view with RealPlayer, click here (39.8 MB).

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This page was last updated on 2 December 2004

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About the Swift Mission Operations Center

The Swift Mission Operations Center (MOC), located at Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, is responsible for operating and controlling the satellite and for receiving and distributing data from Swift about gamma-ray bursts. MOC scientists also are responsible for planning Swift observations, for commanding and uploading software to the satellite, for verifying the health and safety of the satellite and its instruments, and for quickly reviewing the gamma-ray-burst data as it arrives.

The MOC receives almost all of Swift's data--in the range of six thousand million bytes per day--via a transmission station in Kenya maintained by the Italian Space Agency. A small portion of Swift's data--about fifty thousand bytes per day--is delivered via TDRSS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System) simultaneously to the MOC at Penn State and to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, which shares the data with astronomers worldwide through Swift's gamma-ray-burst coordinates network (GCN).