NASA Selects SpaceX to Launch StarBurst Mission on Falcon 9
NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for StarBurst, a small satellite mission designed to investigate the origins of neutron star mergers and short gamma-ray bursts.
StarBurst Launch Planned for 2028
StarBurst is scheduled to launch by 2028 aboard a Bandwagon rideshare mission. The satellite will fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA selected SpaceX through a fixed-price task order under the agency’s VADR contract, or Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare launch services. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract allows NASA to acquire launch services during a 10-year order period, with all contracts valued at up to $1 billion.
Studying Neutron Star Mergers and Gamma-Ray Bursts
The StarBurst mission is designed to survey the entire sky without obstruction from Earth while searching for short, powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
The satellite will focus on detecting the initial high-energy radiation from short gamma-ray bursts produced when dense stellar remnants called neutron stars merge.
By combining StarBurst observations with gravitational-wave measurements and follow-up observations from other telescopes, researchers will be able to study these events using multiple types of signals. This approach is known as multimessenger astronomy.
Part of NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneer Program
StarBurst is part of NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneer Program, which supports low-cost exploration using small spacecraft and other platforms.
NASA’s Launch Services Program Office, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contract.
Learn more about NASA’s StarBurst mission below.
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
[email protected] / [email protected]
Lee Jay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
[email protected]
Source: www.nasa.gov