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.
Identity
- Aliases
- CGROGamma Ray ObservatoryGROArthur Holly Compton Gamma Ray ObservatoryCompton Observatory
- Name
- Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
- Slug
- compton-gamma-ray-observatory
- Status
- completed
Details
- 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.
- End Date
- 2000-06-04
- Launch Site Id
- qh7bfkkw0eascg5gfjvjv05dhh85ktxn
- 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.
- Program
- NASA Great Observatories Program
- Start Date
- 1991-04-05
- Vehicle Family Ids
- nd7sxcspb3czhd8b3vfx56eekh85ksaend7ypzh6m14pmncje6d76gn3p98aqmx0
- Vehicle Id
- nh7wc429xw640t5wsz36pb3t558apgxj
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cgro/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- 7/17/2026, 1:27:10 AM
- Updated Time
- 7/17/2026, 1:27:10 AM
Other
- Affiliations
- Organization Id
- vh76vnx3yy1vy23j7zc3wk80wx7nhx5f
- Role
- Lead agency, mission sponsor, and Great Observatories program owner
- Organization Id
- vn71m3a9t7bhfbpr44wmc59zwh8aqcy2
- Role
- Mission management and operations, Science Support Center, and EGRET leadership
- Organization Id
- vn7brfp7hhv18708p1496zchz98aqd5m
- Role
- Burst and Transient Source Experiment development
- Organization Id
- jd721nj3rrbc9hy6hqxftvxatn7kpgtd
- Role
- TRW spacecraft design, construction, integration, and testing; Grumman Aerospace EGRET collaboration
- Organization Id
- vn73v550ge1zef403yzd3a32798apggd
- Role
- Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment development
- Organization Id
- vn73qtx1n92t819rjf3vz7zmhs8aqxvj
- Role
- COMPTEL and EGRET collaboration
- Organization Id
- vn7ccfjc2h8ah1nryps2jec6ax8aq9mk
- Role
- COMPTEL collaboration
- Organization Id
- vn73jq8cgp51c0kmn4m50ee63n8aq86d
- Role
- COMPTEL collaboration
- Organization Id
- vn784j0xsdq6jgwj87wa1e2ann8ap302
- Role
- EGRET collaboration