Jena-Optronik developed the main parts of the Glast Burst Monitor (GBM) for NASA's Fermi gamma-ray space telescope (former GLAST mission). The aim of the scientific mission is to observe high energy gamma rays and the related astrophysical phenomena.
During the instrument development the company could base on the experience gained during the INTEGRAL mission (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) of the European Space Agency ESA. The mission was launched in 2002 and observes simultaneously objects in gamma rays, X-rays and visible light.
The Glast Burst Monitor (GBM) is sensitive to X-rays and gamma rays with energies between 8 keV and 25 MeV. GBM includes 12 Sodium Iodide (NaI) scintillation detectors and two Bismuth Germanate (BGO) scintillation detectors. During the mission lifetime of five years GBM will search gamma ray bursts, one of the most energetic events in the universe and cause the birth of black holes.