Space telescopes·CNSA / CNES

SVOM

ActiveLaunched in 2024·Low Earth orbit

A French-Chinese mission dedicated to gamma-ray bursts, with a French wide-field X-ray camera (ECLAIRs) and ground alerts within minutes.

Main objectives

Did you know?

When ECLAIRs spots a burst, the satellite slews in under 5 minutes to observe it with its narrow-field instruments.

Timeline

Jun 22, 2024

Launch

Long March 2C lift-off from Xichang.

Jun 22, 2024

First gamma-ray burst

Detection of GRB 240622B a few hours after switch-on.

Sep 01, 2024

Operational phase

Routine ground alerts and multi-wavelength follow-up.

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ECLAIRs

Wide-field X/gamma camera (4–150 keV).

MXT

Lobster-eye X-ray telescope (0.2–10 keV).

GRM

Gamma-ray spectrometer (50 keV – 5 MeV).

Band4 keV – 5 MeV

Mass950 kg

OrbitLow Earth orbit (625 km)

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ObservationMajor
First gamma-ray burst detection
SVOM detected its first gamma-ray burst (GRB 240622B) a few hours after its instruments were switched on.
Jun 22, 2024CNES/SVOM ↗
MilestoneNotable
Operational phase
Routine ground alerts and multi-wavelength follow-up.
Sep 01, 2024
MilestoneNotable
First gamma-ray burst
Detection of GRB 240622B a few hours after switch-on.
Jun 22, 2024

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