Page 1
LEO
Astrophysics
Fermi
Orbiting Gamma-Ray Observatory
FACTS AT A GLANCE
Mission Description
Formerly known as the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), the Fermi Gamma-Ray
Space Telescope (Fermi) is a next generation, high-energy gamma-ray orbiting observatory designed
to probe black hole particle jets, gamma-ray bursts, dark matter, and other energetic phenomena by
observing gamma rays. Fermi makes observations of celestial gamma-ray sources in the energy band
extending from 10 kiloelectron volt to more than 300 gigaelectron volt; the broadest energy coverage
ever provided by a single spacecraft for gamma-ray studies. It follows in the footsteps of the Compton
Gamma-Ray Observatory and joins its orbiting sister, the Swift Gamma-Ray Observatory.
Spacecraft
Under contract to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Orbital designed and manufactured the
spacecraft, integrated the NASA-furnished payload instruments, and performed full system testing of
the observatory, including EMI-EMC and environmental tests. This follows a similar effort at Orbital for
the development of NASA’s highly successful Swift Gamma-Ray Observatory, launched in 2004. The
spacecraft design was based on Orbital's ight-proven LEOStar™-3 standard bus.
• Fermi represents a collaboration
of astronomers, physicists, and
engineers at NASA, the U.S.
Department of Energy, U.S.
universities, and institutes and
universities in France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, and Sweden
• Spacecraft design based on Orbital's
ight-proven LEOStar-3 standard bus.
• 565 km circular Low Earth Orbit
mission
• Fermi carries two instruments: the
Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the
GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM).
• The LAT weighs over 6,000 lb
with almost a million channels of
electronics, but it uses less than half
the power of an ordinary hair dryer.
• Fermi orbits the Earth every 96
minutes. It is oriented to point the
instruments upward at all times, so
the Earth does not block the view. On
alternate orbits, Fermi rocks to the left
and right, allowing the instruments to
survey the entire sky in two orbits.
Fermi in nal checkout. (NASA photo)
Customer:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Page 2
Fermi
Specications
Spacecraft
Launch Mass: 4,303 kg (9,486.5 lb.)
Solar Arrays: Triple junction GaAs cells; 3122 W EOL
Orbit: 565 km circular @ 25.6°
Stabilization: 3-axis, ZMB
Pointing Control: 64.8 arcsec (3s)
Data Storage: 160 Gbits BOL
Data Downlink: Ku-band, 40 Mbps
Propulsion: >360 kg (794 lb.) of blowdown monopropellant
hydrazine with (12) 22N thrusters located in
four clusters
Mission Life: 5 years, 10 year goal
Launch
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920H-10
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Date: June 11, 2008
Instruments
Large Area Telescope (LAT)
The LAT is an imaging high-energy gamma-ray telescope covering the energy
range from about 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV.
GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM)
The GBM complements the LAT in its observations of transient sources and is
sensitive to X-rays and gamma rays with energies between 8 keV and 40 MeV.
Mission Partners
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Procuring agency, project/contract management, mission
systems engineering
Stanford University SLAC National Accelerator
Laboratory
Lead developer of the LAT instrument
Marshall Space Flight Center
Lead developer of the GBM instrument
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Development of the spacecraft, integration of the GBM and
LAT instruments, testing of the satellite, and launch vehicle
integration
International Sponsors
France: Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique; CNRS/Institut
National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
Italy: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica
Nucleare; Istituto Nazionale di Astrosica
Japan: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology; High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
(KEK); Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Sweden: K. A. Wallenberg Foundation; Swedish Research
Council; National Space Board
Objectives of the Fermi Mission
• Explore the most extreme environments in the universe, where nature
harnesses energies far beyond anything possible on Earth
• Search for signs of new laws of physics and what composes the mysterious
dark matter
• Explain how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light
speed
• Help crack the mysteries of the stupendously powerful explosions known as
gamma-ray bursts
• Answer long-standing questions across a broad range of topics, including
solar ares, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays
Orbital Sciences Corporation
45101 Warp Drive
•
Dulles, Virginia 20166
•
www.orbital.com
©2014 Orbital Sciences Corporation FS010_10_2998
Loading...