Abstract. TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up), the first orbital detector of extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs), those with energies above 50 EeV, was launched into orbit on April 28, 2016, as a part of the Lomonosov satellite scientific payload. The main aim of the mission is to test a technique of registering fluorescent and Cherenkov radiation of extensive air showers generated by EECRs in the atmosphere with a space telescope. We present preliminary results of its operation in a mode dedicated to registering extensive air showers in the period from August 16, 2016, to November 4, 2016. No EECRs have been conclusively identified in the data yet, but the diversity of ultraviolet emission in the atmosphere was found to be unexpectedly rich. We discuss typical examples of data obtained with TUS and their possible origin. The data is important for obtaining more accurate estimates of the nocturnal ultraviolet glow of the atmosphere, necessary for successful development of more advanced orbital EECR detectors including those of the KLYPVE (K-EUSO) and JEM-EUSO missions.
One of the least documented and understood aspects of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is the rise phase of the optical light curve. The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) is an effort to address this question through extraordinary opportunities presented by a series of space missions including a small spacecraft observatory. The UFFO is equipped with a fast-response Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) that uses a rapidly moving mirror or mirror array to redirect the optical beam rather than slewing the entire spacecraft to aim the optical instrument at the GRB position. The UFFO will probe the early optical rise of GRBs with sub-second response, for the first time, opening a completely new frontier in GRBs and transient studies. Its fast response measurements of the optical emission of dozens of GRBs each year will provide unique probes of the burst mechanism and test the prospect of GRBs as a new standard candle, potentially opening up the z > 10 universe. For the first time we employ a motorized slewing stage in SMT that can point to the event within 1 s after the x-ray trigger provided by the UFFO Burst Alert and Trigger Telescope. These two scientific instruments comprise the UFFO-pathfinder payload, which will be placed onboard the Lomonosov satellite and launched in 2013. The UFFOpathfinder is the first step of our long-term program of space instruments for rapid-response GRB observations. We describe early photon science, our soonto-be-launched UFFO-pathfinder hardware and mission, and our next planned mission, the UFFO-100.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.