USRA supports multiple research and technology development projects at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) that are designed to help us understand the origin, structure, evolution and destiny of the universe; and the Sun and its effects on the Earth and the solar system. Gamma-ray astronomy, x-ray astronomy, cosmic ray physics, and solar and space physics are all important areas of research for USRA in Huntsville, Alabama, in collaboration with NASA and the University of Alabama, Huntsville.

NSSTC's key activities include high-energy astrophysics research supporting ongoing NASA programs like the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Burst Monitor and contributing to the development of future high-energy missions such as the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) and the Explorer of Diffuse Emission and Gamma-ray burst Explosions (EDGE).

Building on USRA's heritage with the Compton Gamma-Ray Observer (CGRO), USRA scientists have studied soft gamma repeaters and anomalous x-ray pulsars, transient accreting pulsars, and gamma-ray bursts, their afterglows, and host environments.

Dr. Mark Finger

USRA's science and technology projects at NSSTC are led by USRA's Dr. Mark Finger, who worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on problems related to the high-precision tracking of interplanetary spacecraft. For ten years, he was the instrument specialist for the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) onboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, and conducted research into x-ray binary pulsars. Dr. Finger currently conducts research on transient pulsar and black-hole x-ray binaries.

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