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Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was the second Great Observatory and the first observatory to survey the gamma-ray sky across six decades of energy with four complementary instruments. Atlantis carried it on STS-37; after a contingency EVA freed its antenna, Compton operated for nine years before NASA conducted a controlled reentry over the Pacific.

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
NASA · The exact NASA image article https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/april-7-1991-deployment-of-breakthrough-gamma-ray-observatory/ identifies this STS-37 photograph as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory released from Space Shuttle Atlantis by the remote manipulator system and credits the image to NASA. The stored 4134x4008 image is conclusively the same photograph as NASA's current rendition at https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/s37-96-010.jpg; that rendition preserves the original 4134x4008 dimensions in its image metadata. NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines at https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/ state that NASA content generally is not subject to copyright in the United States and may be used for factual or informational purposes with NASA acknowledgment. Commercial use must not imply NASA endorsement; NASA insignia, logotype, and identifiers are protected. NASA may host third-party material with separate rights, so any separately identified third-party material requires its own permission. This credit records the asset-level NASA source and does not imply endorsement or grant rights to NASA identifiers. · Source
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Identity

Aliases
CGROGamma Ray ObservatoryGROArthur Holly Compton Gamma Ray ObservatoryCompton Observatory
Name
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
Status
completed

Details

Astronauts
-
Description
NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was the second Great Observatory and the first observatory to survey the gamma-ray sky across six decades of energy with four complementary instruments. Atlantis carried it on STS-37; after a contingency EVA freed its antenna, Compton operated for nine years before NASA conducted a controlled reentry over the Pacific.
Destination
Near-circular low Earth orbit at approximately 450 km altitude and 28.5° inclination for all-sky gamma-ray observations across a broad high-energy range
End Date
2000-06-04
Launch Site
Outcome
Successful. Compton exceeded its planned two-to-five-year lifetime, transformed gamma-ray astronomy with more than 2,700 BATSE gamma-ray bursts, all-sky surveys and maps, and discoveries involving blazars, pulsars, radioactive aluminum, and antimatter. After one of three control gyroscopes failed, NASA ended the still-productive mission with a controlled Pacific reentry while two gyroscopes remained available.
Programs
Start Date
1991-04-05
Vehicle Families

Links

Official Url
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cgro/

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 17, 2026 at 01:27:10 UTC
Updated Time
August 22, 2026 at 13:32:28 UTC
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Affiliations
Search Name
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory CGRO Gamma Ray Observatory GRO Arthur Holly Compton Gamma Ray Observatory Compton Observatory
Space Stations
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