Signals from the GRBBeta CubeSat, which will be launched by the European Space Agency's Ariane 6 rocket, will also be closely monitored by astrophysicists from Masaryk University. They have been instrumental in the preparation of the project and will analyse data from the gamma-ray burst detector on board of the satellite. The scientists will also test the smallest astrophysical camera in space, LuvCAM, which is sensitive to the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. The Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled to launch from Kourou in French Guiana on Tuesday 9 July 2024 between 20:00 and 23:00 CEST.
GRBeta is a small CubeSat. The dimensions of the satellite in its folded state without the antennas deployed are only 10 x 10 x 22.7 cm. The weight of the satellite is approximately 2,5 kg. Even though this spacecraft is smaller than a shoebox, scientists and astronomers have high expectations. Among other things, GRBBeta will be used to validate technologies for future nanosatellites that will be used to record and precisely localise gamma-ray bursts (or GRBs) from space.
It was Norbert Werner's team from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University in Brno that made a significant contribution to the preparation of the GRBBeta satellite in the framework of international cooperation. The project is carried out by the Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Aeronautics, and the supplier of the satellite platform is the Slovak company SPACEMANIC. The development of the GRB detector was led by Andras Pal from Konkoly Observatory in Budapest in cooperation with a team from Brno, which calibrated the detector and helped with the installation of the GRB detector and UV telescope into the satellite. "This important part of the mission preparation took place in the so-called clean room of the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University," said Norbert Werner the leader of the High-Energy Astrophysics research group, which will process and analyse the data obtained by the satellite.
The GRBBeta satellite contains the basic subsystems needed for energy supply, maintaining the satellite's orientation, communication, and data storage. The mission will also test some new technologies and subsystems, an advanced positioning module and an instant messaging module via the Iridium satellite communications network.
The High Energy Astrophysics research group from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University is currently also responsible for the analysis of data from the GRBAlpha CubeSat. GRBAlpha has already detected more than 140 gamma-ray bursts and observed the largest gamma-ray burst to date, GRB 221009A, in October 2022.
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