In addition UK astronomers will be involved in follow up observations using ground-based telescopes across the World.

"Swift is unique because it brings together space scientists and ground-based astronomers in a way that has never been achieved before - working together, they are poised to reveal the origins and complexity of the most violent phenomena in the Universe - gamma-ray bursts." said Professor Ian Halliday, Chief Executive of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC).

Lasting only between a few milli-seconds to a few minutes gamma ray bursts are the most explosive events in the Universe - emitting more than one hundred billion times the energy that the Sun emits in an entire year.

However, the afterglow, which frequently follows a burst continues to emit X-rays, optical light and radio waves for hours to weeks afterwards.

The Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) will detect and locate about two gamma-ray bursts per week, relaying a position to the ground within about 20 seconds.

This position will then be used to "swiftly" steer the satellite to point the X-ray Telescope (XRT), directly at the burst position. Meanwhile, Swift will 'e-mail' scientists and telescopes around the world to observe the burst in real-time through the Swift Gamma-ray Burst Coordinates Network (GCN).

This includes UK astronomers using telescope facilities such as the Faulkes Telescopes in Hawaii and Australia, the William Herschel and Liverpool Telescopes in La Palma and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Professor Alan Wells from the University of Leicester, UK Lead Investigator for the XRT onboard Swift, is also eagerly awaiting the launch.

"Of the 10 space missions I've worked on over the past 30 years, Swift is by far the most innovative. The mission, the spacecraft and especially the scientific instruments that we, in the UK, have had a big hand in over the past 5 years, are finely tuned to push back the frontiers of the understanding of gamma ray bursts. The launch of Swift on November 8 is the next big step in this new scientific adventure."

Professor Keith Mason, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL and UK lead investigator for the Ultra Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) on Swift added, "After several years of extremely hard work in planning and building the mission, and a couple of false starts due to hurricanes, the build up of tension is palpable.

"Launch is clearly a make or break event. The science case for Swift has grown ever stronger over the years, and there is a huge sense of anticipation that we can finally begin to address the fundamental questions about gamma-ray bursts that Swift was designed to tackle."

Professor Martin Ward, Chair of PPARC's Science Committee said: "We are almost exactly at the 30th year anniversary of a seminal X-ray space mission called Ariel V, which was a joint UK/NASA endeavour. That mission revolutionized X-ray astronomy."

"We are now poised to launch the Swift gamma-ray/X-ray satellite, in collaboration with our American and Italian colleagues, which will provide unique opportunities to further our understanding of the extreme physics in the violent universe."

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