BurstCube Satellite

Autonomously detect gamma ray bursts (GRBs) onboard to detect fading broadband afterglows.

NASA-developed 6U CubeSat designed to search the sky for brief flashes of high-energy light such as gamma-ray bursts, solar flares, and other hard X-ray transients. 

Long and short gamma ray bursts are stellar remnants that can be the result of some of the universe’s most powerful explosions like the collapse or collision of massive stars, or when a neutron star collides with a black hole. BurstCube will use a new kind of compact, low-power silicon photomultiplier array to detect the elusive bursts of light. 

With the ability to detect these brief flashes from space, BurstCube can help alert other observatories to witness changes in the universe as they happen. Astronomers can also benefit from the information because these bursts are important sources for gravitational wave discoveries. 

Autonomously detect gamma ray bursts (GRBs) onboard and rapidly downlink data to maximize chances of detecting fading broadband afterglows. It will increase the likelihood of coincident detection and the number of short GRBs that can be correlated with gravitational wave signals. BurstCube will provide astrophysical context, evidence of extreme physical process and rare, dramatic end-stage stellar evolution.