Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

cIclops · 2006-05-18 04:57:33

GLAST main instrument is ready for testing and launch in late 2007.

Update here

The Large Area Telescope will be at least 30 times more sensitive than previous gamma-ray detectors and will have a far greater field of view.

Project website

cIclops · 2006-05-19 07:51:56

THE GLAST LAT (Large Area Telescope)

More details here

cIclops · 2007-11-12 04:46:49

In the General Dynamics clean room - 26 Jun 2007

cIclops · 2008-03-01 02:48:29

More details & higher resolution image

Launch time is approaching fast, scheduled for 16 May 2008.

cIclops · 2008-03-17 05:03:31

In the Astrotech payload processing facility

Spacecraft Arrives in Florida to Prepare for Launch - 7 Mar 2008

NASA’s Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, arrived Tuesday at the Astrotech payload processing facility near the Kennedy Space Center to begin final preparations for launch. Liftoff of GLAST aboard a Delta II rocket is currently targeted for 11:45 a.m. EDT on May 16.
GLAST is a collaborative mission with the U.S. Department of Energy, international partners from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Sweden, and numerous academic institutions from the U.S. and abroad. The spacecraft will explore the most extreme environments in the universe, and answer questions about supermassive black hole systems, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays. It also will study the mystery of powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
The milestones to be accomplished over the next two months include attaching the Ku-band communications antenna and the two sets of solar arrays, a complete checkout of GLAST’s scientific instruments, installing the spacecraft’s battery, and loading aboard the observatory’s propellant. These activities will be performed by General Dynamics, builder of the spacecraft for NASA. GLAST currently is scheduled to be transported to Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 1.

cIclops · 2008-05-18 10:23:54

GLAST Gets Shades, Blankets for the Beach - 13 May 2008

NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is receiving finishing touches at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the beaches of eastern central Florida for its launch. The spacecraft is set for launch aboard a Delta II rocket no earlier than June 3. The launch window runs from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT.
Housed at the Astrotech Facility located near the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., GLAST is getting a lot of attention from engineers and scientists, from sun shades to thermal blankets, to final inspection.
Recently, sun shades were installed on GLAST. "These are light shades on the star tracker optics (optics that measure where the observatory is pointing) that keep light outside of the field of view from obscuring the star field," said Al Vernacchio, GLAST Deputy Project Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "Sun shades are like a visor you flip down in your car on a sunny day to block the Sun's glare so you can see the road," said Steve Ritz, GLAST Project Scientist at Goddard. They "shade" the star tracker field-of-view from stray light coming from the Sun, the Earth and the Moon, so GLAST's star trackers can see the needed reference stars. GLAST uses reference stars to check its orientation. Basically, GLAST is navigated using both GPS and the stars.
Once the shades are installed, temporary covers are placed on the open part of the shades to protect the optics from debris. These covers are removed after the rocket fairing (shell of the rocket where GLAST will sit) is installed on the launch vehicle prior to flight.
Thermal blanket "closeouts" were also recently done at Astrotech. Basically, thermal blankets are to spacecraft as clothes are to people. They'll protect GLAST from the harsh environment of space. A "closeout" means taping up all the loose seams on the insulation. The seams are always left open as long as access to the spacecraft is needed.
Engineers also made sure that GLAST had a thorough cleaning and a "blacklight inspection." The cleaning/blacklight inspection is just what it implies - going over everything carefully. "The blacklight can help with the cleanliness inspection, especially in finding organic materials like fingerprints which fluoresce (and become visible) under the ultraviolet from the blacklight," said David Thompson, a GLAST Deputy Project Scientist from NASA Goddard.
On May 4, workers moved the GLAST spacecraft to the Hazardous Processing Facility near Kennedy Space Center, Fla. for fueling.
Currently, the Delta II launch vehicle that will carry GLAST spaceward is also being prepared on Launch-pad 17B.

cIclops · 2008-05-24 04:40:58

Launch Aboard Delta II on June 3 - 22 May 2008

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch of NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is targeted for Tuesday, June 3, from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The launch window extends from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT and remains unchanged through Aug. 7. The June 3 launch date is dependent on space shuttle Discovery's May 31 liftoff, and will move if the shuttle launch is delayed.
NASA's new gamma-ray observatory will open a wide window on the universe through the study of Gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. GLAST data will enable scientists to answer persistent questions across a broad range of topics, including supermassive black-hole systems, pulsars, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics.
NASA will hold a pre-launch news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center news center at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television.
Participating in the briefing will be:
- Dr. Jon Morse, director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Omar Baez, NASA launch director/launch manager, Kennedy Space Center
- Kris Walsh, director of Delta NASA and Commercial Programs, United Launch Alliance, Cape Canaveral, Fla.
- Albert Vernacchio, GLAST deputy project manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- Dr. Steven Ritz, GLAST Project scientist/astrophysicist, Goddard Space Flight Center
- Joel Tumbiolo, U.S. Air Force Delta II launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Prelaunch Processing - video 10 mins

cIclops · 2008-05-28 01:28:20

(05/27/2008) --- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first half of the payload fairing is moved into place around NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope within the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent.

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2006-05-18 04:57:33

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#2 2006-05-19 07:51:56

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#3 2007-11-12 04:46:49

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#4 2008-03-01 02:48:29

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#5 2008-03-17 05:03:31

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#6 2008-05-18 10:23:54

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#7 2008-05-24 04:40:58

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

#8 2008-05-28 01:28:20

Re: Gamma ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

Board footer