Visualisation of GRBBeta in space. The small satelite is a successor to the world’s smallest astrophysics space observatory, GRBAlpha – the first CubeSat to detect a gamma-ray burst (GRB) from space. It was built by Slovak company Spacemanic. (source: ESA/Spacemanic)
Following on from the success of its predecessor GRBAlpha, which the European Space Agency (ESA) dubbed 'the world's smallest astrophysics space observatory' when it went into space in March 2021, Slovakia's fourth satellite - GRBBeta - launched into orbit last July.
A cubesat, a type of small satellite in the shape of a cube with 10-centimetre-long edges, GRBAlpha was designed as technological proof that a spacecraft that small could detect what is known as a gamma-ray burst (GRB, hence the name).
It achieved this feat in October 2022, becoming the first cubesat to do so.
Like GRBAlpha, GRBBeta was built by Slovak company Spacemanic, in cooperation with international partners, and its prime contractor is the Faculty of Aeronautics at the Technical University of Košice. It will test technology for a future constellation of similar satellites which will be used to study astrophysics phenomena.
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Successful predecessor
One such phenomena is gamma-ray bursts, the brightest and most extreme explosions of energy observed in distant galaxies, lasting from milliseconds to hours. During a typical burst, as much energy is released in the space of a few seconds as the Sun releases in its entire lifespan. These bursts are thought to occur when a particularly massive star implodes and forms a neutron star or black hole.
In October 2022, the most powerful GRB ever detected swept through our Solar System, triggering detectors and observatories both on the ground and in Earth's orbit, including GRBAlpha. The burst occurred 2.4 billion light-years away in the direction of the Sagitta constellation and was caused by a supernova event.
While the sheer brightness of the event, named GRB 221009A overwhelmed large satellites, GRBAlpha was able to measure the brightness at its maximum, thus both contributing to research and proving that in-orbit science can be carried out using such small spacecraft.
