Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts
BurstCube
The most powerful explosions in the Universe will be studied by one of the smallest satellite observatories every launched. BurstCube, a shoebox-sized satellite designed to study Gamma-ray bursts, is a class of satellite called a cubesat, tiny instruments used to test new technologies in space and perform important observations in a very cost-effective (but limited) way. BurstCube is targeted at the study of short Gamma-ray bursts, those which last 2 seconds or less, and which are believed to be the result of collisions of neutron stars. BurstCube has 4 gamma-ray detectors which cover a large part of the sky; if a short burst of gamma-rays hits one of the detectors, the energy and time of the burst is recorded and sent to scientists on the ground, along with some indication of the location of the burst. BurstCube uses the same detector technology as the GBM, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, but advances in technology in the intervening years since the launch of Fermi allows the detectors to be much smaller than those making up the GBM, reducing power requirements, size, mass and cost. The image above shows BurstCube during pre-launch testing after being integrated with its solar arrays which power the satellite. BurstCube was launched to the International Space Station on March 23, 2024, and was deployed from the ISS on April 18.
Published: April 22, 2024
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Page Author: Dr. Michael F. Corcoran
Last modified Monday, 22-Apr-2024 10:40:00 EDT