NASA has announced the awarding of a contract to SpaceX to launch the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) into low Earth orbit.
COSI is a small spacecraft classified as part of the Explorer program, specifically the SMEX category. The contract is valued at approximately $69 million, which includes rocket launch operations and other related services. The launch of COSI is scheduled for August 2027 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA selected the development of COSI in 2021 as part of the SMEX program, with an estimated cost at that time reaching $145 million, excluding launch expenses. Initially, this mission was expected to launch in 2025, but NASA delayed the manufacturing of COSI and extended its Phase B design activities to reduce short-term costs. This has pushed the launch timeline to 2027.
COSI Telescope.
Essentially, COSI is a wide-field gamma-ray telescope shaped like a satellite. Its mission is to study energy phenomena in the Milky Way and beyond, including the creation and annihilation of matter/antimatter and the final stages in the life cycle of a star.
NASA’s COSI will also explore the origins of positrons in the Milky Way, investigate locations of nuclear synthesis within the galaxy, and conduct studies on gamma-ray polarization. The Compton telescope combines sensitivity, spectral resolution, angular resolution, and improved sky coverage to facilitate scientific research activities.
COSI is a collaboration involving the University of California, Berkeley Space Science Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, Naval Research Laboratory, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and Northrop Grumman.
