alert instrument spots an explosion, the spacecraft will quickly turn all by itself so that two other on-board telescopes can observe the X rays and ultraviolet and optical light streaming from the afterglow. This swinging into position will take just a minute, lightning speed by astronomical standards because of Swift's six momentum wheels, double the usual number for a science satellite. Speed is crucial because once the ever-so-brief gamma ray burst subsides, the afterglow is difficult to find and fades within hours or sometimes weeks. News of the gamma ray burst and its precise location instantly will be relayed to astronomers everywhere by the mission control center at Penn State. Ground observatories can then be aimed to assist in the afterglow analysis. Deputy project manager Tim Gehringer calls Swift «the roadrunner of spacecraft, speeding from birth to birth as it advances mankind's knowledge of the most violent explosions in the universe.» Scientists are quick to point out that military spy satellites may well exceed Swift's swiftness. On the scientific front, though, this rapid-response observatory has no peer. Until now, 15 minutes was considered «really fast» for a space observatory and its team to respond to a late-breaking astronomical event, said Anne Kinney, director of NASA's universe division. Swift «is a completely different level of fastness, one minute, one minute and designed to do that consistently, not dependent on anybody answering their cell phone,» she said. The Hubble Space Telescope, by contrast, takes hours if not an entire day or two to swivel into an impromptu viewing position. After chasing gamma ray bursts for a year or two, Swift will expand its repertoire to other rapidly occurring cosmic events.
