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BurstCube

BurstCube logo

Launch Date: March 21, 2024

Start of Science Operations: May/June 2024

End of Operations: No specific requirement

Data Archive: HEASARC BurstCube Archive

BurstCube is a 6U CubeSat operated by NASA. It monitors the sky, autonomously detecting gamma-ray transients and relaying alerts to the ground via NASA's TDRS space communication network.

InstrumentsEnergy RangeField of ViewLocalization
BurstCube50-1000 keV6 sr~30° radius (statistical, 90% confidence)

JSON-Serialized GCN Notice Types in GCN Kafka

BurstCube distributes alerts and localizations detections of gamma-ray transients. These notices are published on the GCN Kafka topic gcn.notices.burstcube.

The GCN schema and example JSON message files are available to use. See the Schema Browser for more information on the properties defined in the schema.

Detailed Description and Examples

TypeContentsLatency
alertDetection of a burst5 min
alert (update)Localization HEALPix map15 min

Trigger Rates

TypeYearly Rates
Short gamma-ray bursts20
Long gamma-ray bursts100
Solar FlaresUnknown
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