Students to construct satellite for gamma ray research

17 Jun 2002

Students at the University of New Hampshire are getting an unprecedented opportunity to gainhands-on experience in the space program: Thanks to a $4 million NASA grant, they will get tobuild, test and operate a scientific satellite to be launched in 1998. This marks the first time theyhave been put in charge of the entire process of producing a satellite from scratch. Two othersatellites are now being built at other institutions under the same program. NASA officials hopethe program will demonstrate that a satellite can be built at much lower cost as compared to theusual procurement process.

The satellite, called CATSAT (for Cooperative Astrophysics and Technology Satellite), will beused to study one enigmatic gamma-ray bursts. CATSAT will attempt to find out whether thesemysterious high-energy flashes come from the sun's immediate neighborhood, the very fringesof the universe, or someplace in between. The satellite, designed to measure X-rays and gammarays given off by distant astronomical objects, will complement NASA's Compton Gamma RayObservatory. One of its scientific instruments was also built at UNH.