We present the detector performance and early science results from GRBAlpha, a 1U CubeSat mission, which is a technological pathfinder to a future constellation of nanosatellites monitoring gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). GRBAlpha was launched in March 2021 and operates on a 550 km altitude sun-synchronous orbit. The gamma-ray burst detector onboard GRBAlpha consists of a 75×75×5 mm CsI(Tl) scintillator, read out by a dual-channel multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) setup. It is sensitive in the ∼30−900 keV range. The main goal of GRBAlpha is the in-orbit demonstration of the detector concept, verification of the detector’s lifetime, and measurement of the background level on low-Earth orbit, including regions inside the outer Van Allen radiation belt and in the South Atlantic anomaly. GRBAlpha has already detected five, both long and short, GRBs and two bursts were detected within a time-span of only 8 hours, proving that nanosatellites can be used for routine detection of gamma-ray transients. For one GRB, we were able to obtain a high resolution spectrum and compare it with measurements from the Swift satellite. We find that, due to the variable background, the time fraction of about 67% of the low-Earth polar orbit is suitable for gamma-ray burst detection. One year after launch, the detector
N. Werner, J. Řípa, F. Münz, F. Hroch, M. Jelínek, J. Krtička, M. Zajaček, M. Topinka, V. Dániel, J. Gromeš, J. Václavík, L. Steiger, V. Lédl, J. Seginak, J. Benáček, J. Budaj, N. Faltová, R. Gális, D. Jadlovský, J. Janík, M. Kajan, V. Karas, D. Korčáková, M. Kosiba, I. Krtičková, J. Kubát, B. Kubátová, P. Kurfürst, M. Labaj, Z. Mikulášek, A. Pál, E. Paunzen, M. Piecka, M. Prišegen, T. Ramezani, M. Skarka, G. Szász, C. Thöne, M. Zejda
We present a proposal for a near-UV space telescope on a ∼70kg micro-satellite with a moderately fast repointing capability and a near real-time alert communication system that has been proposed in response to a call for an ambitious Czech national mission. The mission, which has recently been approved for Phase 0, A, and B1 study shall measure the brightness evolution of kilonovae, resulting from mergers of neutron stars in the near-UV band and thus it shall distinguish between different explosion scenarios. Between the observations of transient sources, the satellite shall perform observations of other targets of interest, a large part of which will be chosen in open competition.
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