Mapping the heavens: Artist's rendering of the GLAST spacecraft in orbit above Earth.
Credit: General Dynamics
Major advance
GLAST is a major advance over its predecessor EGRET, which was aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory launched by NASA in 1991. GLAST should be able to make certain observations in mere days that took EGRET four full years.
In its first year, GLAST will focus on mapping the heavens with unprecedented optical sensitivity that should allow it to discover between 5,000 and 10,000 sources of gamma rays, experts said.
The facility also features the GLAST Burst Monitor, or GBM, equipped to observe gamma-ray bursts, believed to be caused by the collapse of rapidly spinning black holes. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful and luminous explosions in the universe since the Big Bang.
The project brings together governments and academic researchers in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden. The cost of the mission, including the launch, is US$690 million, of which 600 million is funded by the United States.
