The GLAST Mission

GLAST mission overview: A considerable improvement over its successful predecessor -- the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory -- GLAST will have the ability to detect gamma rays in a range of energies from thousands to hundreds of billions of times more energetic than the light visible to the human eye. Radiation of such a magnitude can only be generated under the most extreme conditions; therefore GLAST will focus on studying the most energetic objects and phenomena in the Universe. Because of their tremendous energy, gamma rays travel through the Universe largely unobstructed. This means GLAST will be able to observe gamma-ray sources near the edge of the visible Universe. Gamma rays detected by GLAST will originate near the otherwise obscured central regions of exotic objects like supermassive black holes, pulsars, and gamma-ray bursts. GLAST will study mechanisms of particle acceleration in extreme astrophysical environments. Among topics of cosmological interest will be the information obtained about the periods of star and galaxy formation in the early Universe and on dark matter. Studying these high-energy objects and events with the advanced technologies of GLAST could give us an entirely new understanding of our Universe, revealing unanticipated phenomena. Historically, such new knowledge has eventually given rise to altogether new technologies. The scheduled launch date for GLAST is May 16, 2008. General Dynamics is responsible for the design and manufacture of the spacecraft, integration of the scientific instruments with the spacecraft, and integration of the complete observatory with the Delta 2920H-10 launch vehicle. Once launched, GLAST will reside in a low-earth circular orbit (550 km altitude), at a 28.5 degree inclination. The mission is being designed for a lifetime of 5 years, with a goal of 10 years of operations. GLAST website: http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Transcript of this video: http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/public/resources/movies/glastvideo.html