Paper 13093-299
Paper 13093-299
Glowbug-2: a gamma-ray transient instrument for the ISS
On demand | Presented live 19 June 2024 
Abstract
In this paper we report on the development of Glowbug-2: a gamma-ray transient instrument for the International Space Station (ISS). Glowbug-2 is the next iteration of instrumentation for detecting and localizing gamma-ray transients, in particular Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), being developed and built by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). This iteration of Glowbug follows the successful deployment and operation of the Glowbug-1 instrument on the ISS [1,2], located on the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility Unit (JEM-EFU) from March 2023 to April 2024. Glowbug-2 consists of four large area, panel scintillation detectors with edge read out via an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), on the Department of Defense Space Test Program (DoD STP) H-11 pallet. The launch to the Columbus External Payload Facility SOZ on the ISS is expected in late 2025. The scintillation crystal detector units (CDUs) are the same design as the units to be flown on the upcoming NASA StarBurst Multimessenger Pioneers mission. Glowbug-2 will serve as a science enhancement and risk reduction instrument for the StarBurst mission. Each scintillation panel views the sky at a 45° angle (with respect to the pallet), with each detector facing orthogonal viewing directions, for all sky coverage not occulted by the earth. This work presents the science Glowbug-2 will address, the instrument concept and design, and simulated and laboratory instrument performance metrics.
Presenter
U.S. Naval Research Lab. (United States)
Dr. Richard Woolf received his PhD from the University of New Hampshire in 2010. His dissertation focused on the development of instrumentation for a neutron scatter telescope. He was then a research scientist at George Mason University followed by his tenure as an NRC Postdoctoral Fellow resident at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington DC. Following his postdoc, he transitioned to a civil servant position as a research physicist at NRL where he continues his work on radiation detection instrumentation, focusing on the development of hardware for gamma-ray astrophysics, novel light readout devices and data acquisition systems.
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