The Franco-Chinese space mission SVOM took off on 22 June 2024. The Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory is in charge of processing the data from one of the instruments on board, the MXT X-ray camera.
The main objective of the SVOM mission is to rapidly detect and analyse gamma-ray bursts, which are particularly energetic transient phenomena linked to the merger of two compact objects (neutron star or black hole) or to the collapse of very massive stars.
Between now and 11 July, the satellite will undergo a series of tests following its entry into orbit: checking communications, measuring the platform’s performance, checking the on-board electronics and temperatures and powering up the instruments.
The preparatory phase for the observations will continue in July and August, with the instruments taking data from predefined sources, functional tests of the scientific instruments in the various modes, tests of the gamma-ray burst detection chain and observations of the first targets.
Read below the reactions of Pierre Maggi, Laurent Michel and Alexis Lorang, who work on the MXT camera, at the launch of the mission:
