GCN Circular 42313
Subject
GRB 251016A: Glowbug gamma-ray detection of a short burst
Event
Date
2025-10-16T21:06:59Z (3 days ago)
From
richard.s.woolf.civ@us.navy.mil
Via
Web form
R. Woolf, C.C. Cheung, M. Kerr, J.E. Grove (NRL), A. Goldstein (USRA), C.A. Wilson-Hodge, D. Kocevski (MSFC), and M.S. Briggs (UAH) report:
The Glowbug gamma-ray telescope [1,2,3], operating on the International Space Station, reports the detection of GRB 251016A, which was also detected by SVOM/ECLAIRs (GCN 42308), Fermi/GBM (GCN 42309), and CALET (Trigger 1444661491).
Using an adaptive window with a resolution of 32-ms, the burst onset is determined to be 2025-10-16 14:59:18.560 with a duration of 0.64 s and a total significance of about 76 sigma. The light curve comprises a single peak.
The analysis results presented here are preliminary and use a response function that lacks a detailed characterization of the surrounding passive structure of the ISS.
Glowbug is a NASA-funded technology demonstrator for sensitive, low-cost gamma-ray transient telescopes developed, built, and operated by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) with support from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, USRA, and NASA MSFC. It was launched on 2023 March 15 aboard the Department of Defense Space Test Program’s STP-H9 to the ISS, and operated until 2024 April when it was put in safe storage on orbit. Glowbug was removed from storage and resumed operation on 2025 September 12.
[1] Grove, J.E. et al. 2020, Proc. Yamada Conf. LXXI, arXiv:2009.11959
[2] Woolf, R.S. et al. 2022, Proc. SPIE, 12181, id. 121811O
[3] Woolf, R.S. et al. 2024, Proc. SPIE, 13151, id. 1315108
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