The High Energy Transient Explorer Mission (HETE-2)
The HETE-2 (http://space.mit.edu/HETE/) program is an
international collaboration to help unravel the mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts
(GRBs). The primary goal of HETE-2 is to determine the origin and nature of
cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) by simultaneous observation of soft and
medium X-rays and gamma-rays to provide precise localization of GRB's
and identification of counterparts to these explosions. HETE-2 was launched on
October 9, 2000 and declared fully operational on February 6, 2001.
HETE-2 carries three science instruments:
- a set of wide-field gamma-ray spectrometers (FREGATE (http://space.mit.edu/HETE/fregate.html))
- a wide-field X-ray monitor (WXM (http://space.mit.edu/HETE/wxm.html))
- a set of soft X-ray cameras (SXC (http://space.mit.edu/HETE/sxc.html))
For more information, visit the HETE Archive (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/hete2/).
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