The COmpton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is an Astrophysics Small Explorer satellite mission that will probe the origins of our galaxy’s antimatter, uncover sites in our galaxy where complex atomic nuclei form, perform pioneering studies of gamma-ray polarization, and find counterparts to sources detected by means other than light, such as gravitational waves. COSI will employ a soft gamma-ray telescope using new technology to provide groundbreaking science.

The COSI satellite design is the result of extensive technology development that has been tested on scientific balloons over the past two decades. The latest flight was in 2016 aboard a NASA super pressure balloon, which is designed for long flights and heavy lifts.

COSI will help us advance our understanding of the creation and destruction of matter in the Milky Way and beyond. It operates at gamma-ray energies up to millions of times greater than visible light — between 0.2 and 5 million electron volts (MeV) — that uniquely probe astrophysical processes occurring among atomic nuclei, allowing us to directly see where new elements are being formed in our galaxy.

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COSI_cleanroom_1_square
Website
cosi.ssl.berkeley.edu
Location

Low-Earth orbit

Type

Engineering, Operations, Research

Schedule

Planned for Launch in 2027

Status

Active

Partners

UCSD, Naval Research Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, Northrop Grumman, Clemson University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Louisiana State University, and international partners in France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and Taiwan.

PI

John Tomsick

Team

Joel Krajewski, Ellen Taylor, Mary Ann Young, Sharmin Hossainy, Pooneh Zehtabfard, Erica Hissom, Steve Boggs, Anna Butterworth, Sasha Courtade, John Grinold, John McBride, Ruth Borrud, Andreas Zoglauer, Field Rogers, Robin Anthony-Petersen, Samer Al Nussirat, Nicole Rodriguez Cavero, Jarred Roberts, Hannah Goldberg, Greg Dalton, Alex Lowell, Chris Perkins, David Sundqvist, Chris Smith, Brad Pafchek, Matt Rubly, Hilary Brunner, Van Shourt, Morgan Burks, Amanda Slagle, Josh Forgione, Peter Berg, Sophia Brunner, Ben Chainey, Matt Fraysse, Fernando Padilla, Bill Gies, Ian Heetderks, Rachel Hochman, Neli Montalvo, Aldo Aguilar; Brent Mochizuki, John McDonald, Abhi Tripathi, Dan Cosgrove, Bryce Roberts, Mark Lewis, Irene Rosen, Tori Fae, Wing Yeung Ma, Yvette Irwin, David Gallegos, Leia McQueen, Kevin Zamani, Juan Carlos Martinez Oliveros, Hannah Gulick, Shunsaku Nagasawa, Chris Moeckel, Matt Dexter, Pascal Saint-Hilaire, Felix Hagemann

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