Paper 13093-303
Paper 13093-303
The ComPair balloon instrument and flight
On demand | Presenting live 19 June 2024 
Abstract
The ComPair balloon instrument is a prototype gamma-ray telescope that aims to further develop technology for observing the gamma-ray sky in the MeV regime. ComPair combines four detector subsystems to enable parallel Compton scattering and pair-production detection, critical for observing in this energy range. This includes a 10 layer double-sided silicon strip detector tracker, a virtual Frisch grid low energy CZT calorimeter, a high energy CsI calorimeter, and a plastic scintillator anti-coincidence detector. The inaugural balloon flight successfully launched from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility site in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in late August 2023, lasting approximately 5 hours in duration. In this presentation, we discuss ComPair’s development of the ComPair balloon payload, the performance during flight, and early results.
Presenter
Lucas D. Smith
Univ. of Maryland, College Park (United States), NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr. (United States)
4th year PhD student at the University of Maryland, College Park. I do my research at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. I am interested in developing technologies for future high energy astrophysics missions.
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