The utilisation of the Space Station for gamma-ray astronomy.

The status of gamma ray astronomy (GRA) is assessed and the GRA activities that will probably be a part of the Space Station (SS) are projected. Present GRA efforts use gamma ray data collected on the earth and by satellites such as the Einstein Observatory and COS-B to characterize explosive nuclear events occurring in the sun, pulsars, the galaxy, active galactic nuclei and extended galactic objects such as supernovae. Coded aperture masks over a position-sensitive plane and time coded modulation techniques now permit accurate mappings of celestial gamma ray sources. GRA instruments operated in conjunction with the SS will be mounted on a separate, co-orbiting platform serviced from the SS. Angular resolution of 0.001 arcsec will be possible. The availability of humans in space will allow experimentation with new types of instrumentation and combinations of instruments. Finally, a modular GRA telescope is described which can be increased in power and resolution as budgets allow.