About the mission
239Alferov is an educational 3U CubeSat mission. It was launched on 25 July 2025 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome into a Sun-synchronous orbit. The mission combines amateur radio and space research objectives.
The gamma-ray detector onboard 239Alferov contains a 64x72x15 mm NaI(Tl) scintillator, read out by a SiPM array, and covers the energy range from approximately 20 keV to 1000 keV.
Scientific observations began in December 2025. The instrument currently records count rates in five energy bands: approximately 20–50 keV, 50–100 keV, 100–500 keV, 500–1000 keV, and >1000 keV, with a temporal resolution of 0.5 s.
Sky surveys last for several days, with approximately day-long intervals between observing sessions for data analysis and technical maintenance.
The mission ground segment uses the open SONIKS ground station network.
Current detector operation time
During the interval 2025-12-02 — 2026-06-04:
23 days
List of detected bursts
| Name | Date and time | 239Alferov GCN | Other detections |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRB 251203A | 29925.150 s UT (08:18:45.150) | -- | Fermi-GBM (42968), AstroSat-CZTI (42991), SVOM-GRM (42995), GECAM-B (42996), Insight-HXMT/HE (43002) |
| GRB 260101A | 3390.650 s UT (00:56:30.650) | 43481 | Fermi-GBM (43284), Swift-BAT (43285), SVOM-GRM (43292), GECAM-B (43294), Konus-Wind (43389) |
| GRB 260121A | 8549.319 s UT (02:22:29.319) | 43612 | IPN (43564), Konus-Wind (43611) |
| GRB 260604A | 8667.541 s UT (02:24:27.541) | 45005 | Fermi-GBM (44812), Glowbug (44845), SVOM-GRM (44863) |
| GRB 260604B | 31555.356 s UT (08:45:55.356) | 45006 | Fermi-GBM (44818), SVOM-GRM (44850) |
The date and time correspond to the trigger times of near-Earth spacecraft; for GRB 260121A, the Konus-Wind trigger time is given.