About Starburst
StarBurst is a SmallSat that will detect high-energy gamma rays from events such as the mergers of dense stellar remnants called neutron stars.
Discover the Science Goals
The StarBurst Multimessenger Pioneer is a highly sensitive and wide field gamma-ray
monitor designed to detect the prompt emission of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs), a key electromagnetic (EM) signature of neutron star (NS) mergers. In conjunction with gravitational wave (GW) and follow-up observations across the EM spectrum, StarBurst will seek to understand neutron star mergers through multimessenger observations and use these studies to address four primary science objectives; 1) Constrain the progenitors of SGRBs, 2) Probe the remnants of NS mergers, 3) Constrain the neutron star equation of state, and 4) Probe the structure of relativistic outflows produced in neutron star mergers.
The first joint GW-EM detection of a NS merger on August 17, 2017 (GW170817)
revolutionized our knowledge of these systems, yet fundamental questions regarding the nature of these cataclysmic events remain. Further joint detection of NS mergers, in both GW and gamma-rays, hold the potential to address many of these questions, enabling science that would be impossible to perform with either signal alone. By 2027, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) will achieve significant upgrades to its sensitivity as part of the NSF-approved “A+” configuration, resulting in the detection of NS mergers at a rate of more than one per week
StarBurst is designed to capitalize on this new era of multimessenger astronomy by
utilizing the advancements in gamma-ray detectors made over the last decade. With over 500% the effective area of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and full coverage of the unocculted sky, StarBurst will make highly sensitive observations of EM counterparts to NS mergers and be a key partner to the GW network in discovering NS mergers. StarBurst is designed as a SmallSat to be deployed to Low Earth orbit (LEO) as a secondary payload using the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Grande interface for a nominal 1-year mission starting in 2027.
StarBurst Observatory
The StarBurst instrument consisting of 12 CsI(Tl) scintillation detectors designed to detect gamma-rays in the 30–1,000 keV energy range and oriented to observe the entire unocculted sky. The StarBurst instrument concept is similar to a long history of highly successful scintillation-based gamma-ray instruments. The incident gamma rays interact in the scintillation crystals, which emit UV and visible photons that are detected by attached photo-sensitive Silicon photomultipiers (SiPMs) and converted into a measurable voltage. The detector electronics digitizes these voltage changes, and the amplitude of the resulting signals provide an estimate of the energy of the individual gamma rays. An onboard clock synchronized to the Global Positioning System (GPS) provides the precise time of arrival for each of the gamma rays, and source localizations are obtained by exploiting the relative signal strengths detected among the different detectors.
Meet the StarBurst Team
The StarBurst mission is led by Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Daniel Kocevski at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, with partnerships with the Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Alabama Huntsville, the Universities Space Research Association, and the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory. The StarBurst team consists of a diverse group of researchers, with an emphasis on early career scientists, with a wide variety of backgrounds. These include both observers and theorists with expertise covering GRBs, GWs, and kilonova, all of whom are mentored by team members with decades of experience in building and operating space-based gamma-ray telescopes. The team also reflects a strong commitment to racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, including several Co-Is drawn from traditionally underrepresented groups in physics and astronomy.
Other key roles and responsibilities include:
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center: PI institution and overall project management.
Naval Research Laboratory: StarBurst instrument design and fabrication.
University of Alabama Huntsville: Instrument flight software
University Space Research Alliance: Science operations center
UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory: Spacecraft bus and mission operations center
Contact:
Reporters with questions or interview requests related to NASA’s StarBurst may contact:
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-631-9126
