Present and future gamma-ray burst experiments

University of California at Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450, U.S.A.

Send offprint request to: K. Hurley

Received: 21 January 1999
Accepted: 3 April 1999

Abstract

Gamma-ray burst counterpart studies require small, prompt error boxes. Today, there are several missions which can provide them: BeppoSAX, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, and the 3rd Interplanetary Network. In the near future, HETE-II, a possible extended Interplanetary Network, and INTEGRAL will operate in this capacity. In the longer term future, a dedicated gamma-ray burst MIDEX mission may fly. The capabilities of these missions are reviewed, comparing the number of bursts, the rapidity of the localizations, and the error box sizes.