Earth orbit
StarBurst
NASA's StarBurst SmallSat will detect high-energy gamma rays from neutron-star mergers and other transient events alongside ground-based gravitational-wave observatories.
NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program lists StarBurst with a target launch in summer 2027 aligned with LIGO's O5 observing run.
View in 3D map ↗Official mission site ↗The mission
StarBurst is a NASA Astrophysics Pioneers SmallSat mission designed to detect high-energy gamma rays from transient events such as neutron-star mergers. The mission will help identify events also observed in gravitational waves, probing the origin of heavy elements including gold and platinum.
The launch
- Launch
- Summer 2027
- Launch location
- Not documented
- Launch vehicle
- Not documented
- Orbit
- Not documented
Mission timeline
Follow the mission through its available trajectory data in the full 3D solar-system map.
- Now
Target launch
Summer 2027 · Earth orbit
NASA targets StarBurst for summer 2027, aligned with LIGO's O5 observing run.
Open milestone source ↗Objectives
- 01
Detect high-energy gamma rays from transient cosmic events.
- 02
Connect electromagnetic detections with gravitational-wave observations of neutron-star mergers.
- 03
Study sites that produce heavy elements such as gold and platinum.
Spacecraft
StarBurst
NASA SmallSat for high-energy gamma-ray observations of transient events.
Gallery
One image from StarBurst.
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