On-orbit performance of Glowbug, a telescope on the ISS for gamma-ray transients

Richard S. Woolf; J. Eric Grove; Matthew Kerr; C. C. Teddy Cheung; J. Mitch Davis; Theodore T. Finne; W. Neil Johnson; Michael S. Briggs; Adam Goldstein; Daniel Kocevski; Colleen A. Wilson-Hodge; A. Wilder Crosier

doi:10.1117/12.3029888

8 October 2024 On-orbit performance of Glowbug, a telescope on the ISS for gamma-ray transients

Richard S. Woolf, J. Eric Grove, Matthew Kerr, C. C. Teddy Cheung, J. Mitch Davis, Theodore T. Finne, W. Neil Johnson, Michael S. Briggs, Adam Goldstein, Daniel Kocevski, Colleen A. Wilson-Hodge, A. Wilder Crosier

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13151, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XXVI; 1315108 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3029888
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2024, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We report on the on-orbit performance of the Glowbug instrument, which operated on the International Space Station (ISS) from March 2023 to April 2024. Glowbug is a NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) funded instrument built by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, and is the pathfinder instrument for the upcoming NASA StarBurst Multimessenger Pioneers mission. Glowbug was launched to the ISS on the 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission operated by SpaceX (SpX-27) as part of the Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) H9 pallet. Glowbug’s primary science objective is the detection and localization of short Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), which are the result of mergers of stellar binaries involving a neutron star with either another neutron star or a black hole. Detection is enabled by 12 large area (150mm x 150mm), inorganic scintillator panels (thallium-doped cesium iodide, CsI:Tl), arrayed on the surface of a half cube. Each panel is read out on one edge by a 1x21 array of onsemi J-series 6mm x 6mm silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). Additionally, within the half cube, resides two inorganic scintillators, Cs₂LiLaBr₆:Ce (CLLB), and a small plastic (EJ-200) scintillator on the exterior used as an South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) entry and exit detector, both of which are read out by an array of SiPMs on one face of each detector unit. We discuss the Glowbug on-orbit results for one year’s worth of data, in terms of on-orbit operations, SiPM performance in low-earth orbit (LEO), and GRB detections.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Richard S. Woolf, J. Eric Grove, Matthew Kerr, C. C. Teddy Cheung, J. Mitch Davis, Theodore T. Finne, W. Neil Johnson, Michael S. Briggs, Adam Goldstein, Daniel Kocevski, Colleen A. Wilson-Hodge, and A. Wilder Crosier "On-orbit performance of Glowbug, a telescope on the ISS for gamma-ray transients", Proc. SPIE 13151, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XXVI, 1315108 (8 October 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3029888

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE