The Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM), operating in space since the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on June 11, 2008, has already detected more than 300 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), many soft gamma-ray repeater bursts and several terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.
Fermi’s main instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT) observed 10 GRBs at energies > 100 MeV. GBM provided the low-energy context measurements with high time resolution, therefore significantly augmenting the science return. By using the GBM onboard computed locations, the spacecraft was re-orientated in three cases, allowing the observation of delayed emission from LAT detected bright burst.
In my talk I will present the instrument hardware, data system, performance and operation, the on-orbit performance and first year science results.
Max-Planck Institut für extraterrestrische Physik à Garching