The GLAST (Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope) was sent into low-Earth orbit on June 11, 2008. Several months prior to Launch, NASA commissioned a series of interviews with project scientists, as well as a series of animations illustrating what those scientists described.

Inside the GLAST is an array of sixteen towers, each hosting sixteen detector plates which are used to track inbound gamma-photons as they convert into positron/electron pairs. The positions of these particles are recorded as they pass through the array of detectors, creating a trajectory map that points back to the source of the gamma radiation.

Exterior model of the GLAST created by Chris Meaney, Senior Animator for NASA.

Click here to see the full interview sequence in which these animations are featured.