The scientific payload on-board the HERMES-TP and HERMES-SP CubeSat missions

HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) Technological and Scientific pathfinder is a space borne mission based on a LEO constellation of nano-satellites. The 3U CubeSat buses host new miniaturized detectors to probe the temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). Fast transient localization, in a field of view of several steradians and with arcmin-level accuracy, is gained by comparing time delays among the same event detection epochs occurred on at least 3 nano-satellites. With a launch date in 2022, HERMES transient monitoring represents a keystone capability to complement the next generation of gravitational wave experiments. In this paper we will illustrate the HERMES payload design, highlighting the technical solutions adopted to allow a wide-energy-band and sensitive X-ray and gamma-ray detector to be accommodated in a CubeSat 1U volume together with its complete control electronics and data handling system.
Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures. Proceedings of SPIE "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation" 2020