The Swift satellite's X-ray telescope (XRT) has captured some spectacular images in the three weeks that it has been active, including its first gamma-ray burst afterglow.
Swift will use the XRT and two other telescopes working in conjunction to study these explosions, which are some of the most powerful in the universe.
Nine new gamma-ray bursts have been detected since Swift has come online, along with a slew of other events that have proven the effectiveness of the NASA-funded observatory, said John Nousek, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and mission director at Penn State.
Some of the images will not be released until research on the XRT is finalized and made public, Nousek said, probably within weeks.
When a gamma-ray burst is detected by Swift's Burst Alert Telescope, the XRT and the Ultraviolet Optical (UVOT) telescopes -- both built at Penn State -- autonomously swivel to face the burst within a minute.
The UVOT is not up and running yet, Nousek said, but testing is currently being done, and it could possibly be ready by Friday.
"Adjustments are being made to the safety circuitry," Nousek said, because currently the UVOT could damage itself by focusing on an object that is too bright.
The data that is taken in by Swift is sent through relay stations before arriving at Penn State's Mission Operations Center, said Tom Taylor, the project's manager for operations.
The data is collected at the Malindi Ground Station in Kenya and then forwarded to Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), the Italian Space Agency. From there it is sent to Johnson Space Center in Houston, then to Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, D.C., and finally to the Mission Operations Center in State College.
Nousek said that the sharing and transfer of information between agencies has been "extraordinarily successful."
"We've had over 600 contacts with Italy and Kenya," he said, "with reliability around 99 percent."
The Swift team is in the process of transferring from the developmental phase to the operational phase, Taylor said.
"The team has done an excellent job working together," he said.
Adam Morgan (junior-astronomy and astrophysics), who worked on scheduling software for the mission, said, "Everyone has been incredibly friendly, helpful and worked well with one another. It's sad to see [many of the engineers] leaving now that the satellite is in orbit."
The Swift mission is only one of the first steps in Penn State's involvement with space exploration.
"The Center for Space Research Programs (CSRP) will help facilitate Penn State in gaining funding for space research," Taylor said, "and Swift is a primary example of what the CSRP will try to accomplish."
Swift is a NASA mission that involves NASA Goddard, ASI and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council in the United Kingdom. The satellite is a collaboration of national laboratories, universities and international partners, including Penn State, the University of Leicester in England and the Brera Observatory at the University of Milan in Italy.
