BurstCube: A CubeSat for Gravitational Wave Counterparts

Authors

Ava A. Myers, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Isabella Brewer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Michael S. Briggs, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Alessandro Bruno, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Eric Burns, Louisiana State University
Regina Caputo, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Brad Cenko, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Julie Cox, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Georgia de Nolfo, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Adam Goldstein, Universities Space Research Association
Sean Griffin, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sylvain Guiriec, The George Washington University
Lorraine Hanlon, University College Dublin
Dieter H. Hartmann, Clemson University
Boyan A. Hristov, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Michelle Hui, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Alyson Joens, Space Sciences Laboratory
Carolyn Kierans, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
R. Marc Kippen, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Dan Kocevski, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
John Krizmanic, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Sibasish Laha, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Amy Lien, The University of Tampa
Israel Martinez-Castellanos, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Sheila McBreen, University College Dublin
Julie E. McEnery, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
J. Grant Mitchell, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Lee Mitchell, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Robert Moss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
David Morris, University of the Virgin Islands
David Murphy, University College Dublin
Pi Nuessle, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Jeremy S. Perkins, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

BurstCube is a 6U (10 x 20 x 30 cm) CubeSat designed to detect gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and enable multi-messenger observations, scheduled to launch in early 2024. BurstCube science is informed by the coincident detection of GRB 170817A and gravitational wave (GW) 170817, which confirmed compact binary mergers as progenitors for GRBs. Future coincident detections will also provide important context to the GW measurements - namely constraining the neutron star equation of state and testing fundamental physics, while also probing the origin of GRB prompt emission. Full sky coverage in the gamma-ray regime is needed to increase the likelihood of such measurements. Once in orbit, BurstCube will expand sky coverage while rapidly providing public alerts and localization information to the community using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) and General Coordinates Network (GCN). This work will describe the current status of the mission, as well as an outline of post-launch operations, performance, and science goals.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering

Recommended Citation

Myers, A., Brewer, I., Briggs, M., Bruno, A., Burns, E., Caputo, R., Cenko, B., Cox, J., de Nolfo, G., Goldstein, A., Griffin, S., Guiriec, S., Hanlon, L., Hartmann, D., Hristov, B., Hui, M., Joens, A., Kierans, C., Kippen, R., Kocevski, D., Krizmanic, J., Laha, S., Lien, A., Martinez-Castellanos, I., McBreen, S., McEnery, J., Mitchell, J., Mitchell, L., Moss, R., Morris, D., Murphy, D., Nuessle, P., & Perkins, J. (2024). BurstCube: A CubeSat for Gravitational Wave Counterparts. Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering, 13093 https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020456