The UFFO (Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory) Pathfinder

Hundreds of gamma-ray burst (GRB) UV-optical light curves have been measured since the discovery of optical afterglows, however, even after nearly 5 years of operation of the SWIFT observatory, only a handful of measurements have been made soon (within a minute) after the gamma ray signal. This lack of early observations fails to address burst physics at the short time scales associated with burst events and progenitors. Because of this lack of sub-minute data, the characteristics of the UV-optical light curve of short-hard type GRB and rapid-rising GRB, which may account for ~30% of all GRB, remain practically unknown. We have developed methods for reaching the sub-minute and the sub-second timescales in a small spacecraft observatory appropriate for launch on a microsatellite. Rather than slewing the entire spacecraft to aim the UV-optical instrument at the GRB position, we use rapidly moving mirrors to redirect our optical beam. Our collaboration has produced a unique MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) micromirror array which can point and settle on target in only 1 ms. This technology is proven, flying successfully as the MTEL (MEMS Telescope for Extreme Lightning) on the Tatiana-2 Spacecraft in September 2009 and as the KAMTEL on the International Space Station in April 2008. The sub-minute measurements of the UV-optical emission of dozens of GRB each year will result in a more rigorous test of current internal shock models, probe the extremes of bulk Lorentz factors, and provide the first early and detailed measurements of fast-rise and short type GRB UV-optical light curves.