Skip to main content

GLAST Gamma-Ray Satellite Powered up

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


Less than a month after entering orbit, NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is powered up and ready to go. Project scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California have begun receiving data from the satellite's Large Area Telescope, one of two instruments it will use to scan the sky for energetic gamma rays, the space agency reported today. Launched on June 11, GLAST is designed to study galactic powerhouses including black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts and could potentially detect dark matter as well. Researchers plan to spend the next two months calibrating the instruments to make sure they know what they're seeing as the data starts rolling in.