Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

Fermi Mission History

The table below lists science milestones, data and software releases, and operations events for the Fermi mission. Dates for science highlights typically reflect the announcement or publication of the result.


Date AO Cycle Category Event
2008-06-11 0 Operations Launch
2008-08-11 1 Operations Checkout phase completed
2008-08-11 1 Operations AO 1 started
2008-08-26 1 Operations GLAST renamed to Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
2008-09-18 1 Data GBM data made available
2009-02-09 1 Software First release of the Science Tools
2009-08-13 2 Operations AO 2 started
2009-08-25 2 Data LAT level-1 data products publicly available
2010-01-14 2 Science 1FGL Catalog (1-year source catalog) released
2010-04-04 2 Operations Fermi initiates first approved ToO
2010-05-18 2 Software GBM's RMFIT tool released
2010-08-11 3 Operations AO 3 started
2010-11-09 3 Science Discovery of Fermi bubbles announced
2011-01-10 3 Science GBM team announced the detection of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) associated with atmospheric pair annihilation events
2011-01-18 3 Science 2011 ROSSI Prize awarded to Bill Atwood, Peter Micheleson and the Fermi LAT Team
2011-08-05 3 Data Pass 7 data released
2011-08-11 4 Operations AO 4 started
2011-08-12 4 Science 2FGL Catalog (2-year) released
2011-10-28 4 Operations Fermi sun-pointing event
2011-12-12 4 Science First GBM Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) Catalog released
2012-05-18 4 Operations 2-year mission extension approved by NASA (PDF)
2012-08-16 5 Operations AO 5 started
2012-04-03 4 Operations Fermi collision avoidance maneuver
2013-06-28 5 Science First LAT High-Energy Catalog (1FHL) released
2013-08-11 5 Operations Fermi entered extended mission phase
2013-08-15 6 Operations AO 6 started
2013-11-08 6 Data Pass 7 data reprocessed and released
2013-12-05 6 Operations Modified observing strategy implemented
2014-05-16 6 Operations 2-year mission extension approved by NASA (PDF)
2014-06-03 6 Software Science Tools v9r33p0 released
2014-07-22 6 Science Announcement of the disovery of transitional millisecond pulsars as transient gamma-ray sources
2014-07-31 6 Science Classical novae revealed as GeV gamma-ray emitters discovery announcement
2014-08-14 7 Operations AO 7 started
2014-12-04 7 Operations Modified observing strategy ended
2015-01-09 7 Science 3FGL Catalog (4-year) released
2015-06-24 7 Data Pass 8 data released
2015-06-24 7 Software Science Tools v10r0p5 released
2015-08-13 8 Operations AO 8 started
2015-09-16 8 Science Second LAT High-Energy Catalog (2FHL) released
2016-06-09 8 Operations 2-year mission extension approved by NASA (PDF)
2016-08-11 9 Operations AO 9 started
2017-02-03 9 Science Third LAT High-Energy Catalog (3FHL) released
2017-08-17 10 Operations AO 10 started
2018-01-29 10 Science 2018 Rossi Prize awarded to Colleen Wilson-Hodge and the GBM team
2018-02-15 10 Software Science Tools v11r5p3 released
2018-03-16 10 Operations Solar Array Drive Assembly (SADA) anomaly occurs
2018-04-03 10 Operations Fermi resumes science operations
2018-07-12 10 Science Association of gamma-ray blazar TXS 0506+056 flare with Ice Cube neutrino events announced
2018-08-16 11 Operations AO 11 started
2018-10-15 11 Software Fermitools 1.0.0 released
2018-11-26 11 Data Updated Pass8 (P8R3) data released
2019-02-25 11 Science 4FGL (8-year) Catalog released
2019-07-03 11 Science Release of Second Fermi LAT GRB Catalog
2019-07-17 11 Operations 3-year mission extension approved by NASA (PDF)
2019-08-02 11 Operations Fermi anomaly interrupts operations
2019-08-05 11 Operations Fermi returns to normal operations
2019-08-17 12 Operations AO 12 started
2020-05-22 12 Science 4FGL-DR2 (10-year) Catalog released
2020-08-13 13 Operations AO 13 started
2020-09-21 13 Software Fermitools 2.0 released
2021-01-20 13 Software Fermitools 2.0.8 released
2021-04-20 13 Data Velocity information added to spacecraft files
2021-08-12 14 Operations AO 14 started
2021-10-18 14 Operations LAT SAA boundary decreased in size (phase one of two)
2022-02-03 14 Operations LAT SAA boundary decreased in size (phase two of two)
2021-12-14 14 Science Light Curve Repository released
2009-02-19 1 Science The Fermi team published the results of an analysis of GRB 080916C, the most extreme gamma-ray burst detected
2010-07-09 2 Data GBM started delivering continuous TTE data for the TGF campaign
2012-11-26 5 Data GBM switched to providing full time continuous TTE data
2017-10-16 10 Science NASA announced the GBM detection of GRB 170817A, coincident with gravitational wave event
2008-07-14 0 Science First GRB detected by the GBM
2008-08-18 1 Science First GRB detected by the LAT
2008-06-28 0 Science First blazar detected by the LAT
2017-04-12 9 Science LAT team delivered the billionth photon to the FSSC
2020-01-01 12 Science The GBM surpasses the 2,704 gamma-ray bursts seen by the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in the 1990's
2009-07-09 1 Operations 39 degree rocking angle profile started
2009-09-03 2 Operations Rocking angle profile changed to 50 degrees
2017-02-08 9 Software GBM response generator released
2018-11-01 11 Software Gspec v0.9.1 released
2020-04-07 12 Software GBM Data Tools first released (v.1.0.2)
2020-05-08 12 Software GBM Data Tools v1.0.3 released
2020-09-18 13 Software GBM Data Tools v1.0.4 released
2021-05-28 13 Software GBM Data Tools v1.1.0 released
2016-01-01 8 Operations GBM automated GRB localizations with RoboBA
2016-03-03 8 Operations GBM BGO detector calibration
2018-01-12 10 Operations GBM began delivering localization map in healpix format
2019-09-11 12 Operations GBM updated localization systematic uncertainty in healpix maps
2010-07-20 2 Operations GBM updated SAA boundaries
2012-03-01 4 Science First GBM spectral catalog released
2014-02-25 6 Science Second GBM GRB catalog released
2014-02-25 6 Science Second GBM spectral catalog released
2016-04-22 8 Science Third GBM GRB catalog released
2020-04-14 12 Science Fourth GBM GRB catalog released
2021-05-25 13 Science GBM 10-year spectral catalog released
2017-07-17 9 Operations GBM began distributing subthreshold transient GCN
2009-01-22 1 Science Magnetar storm from SGR J1550-5418 observed by Fermi
2009-05-10 1 Science The first short GRB (GRB 090510) detected by the LAT places strong limits on Lorentz Invariance
2011-01-12 3 Science The detection of hard X-ray variations from the Crab Nebula announced
2011-01-20 3 Science Electron-positron beams from terrestrial lightning observed with Fermi GBM
2011-02-14 3 Science First GBM Earth Occultation Catalog of Sources Above 100 keV released
2012-03-07 4 Science Fermi GBM detects gamma-ray lines from a solar flare
2013-04-27 5 Science The brightest GRB (GRB 130427) observed with the GBM occurs
2015-05-19 7 Science First GBM Magnetar Catalog released
2016-07-18 8 Science Outburst of black hole binary V404 Cyg produces record number of GBM triggers
2016-08-02 8 Science Fermi GBM Three-year X-ray Burst Catalog released
2017-03-16 9 Science Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) detected from tropical storms
2018-05-09 10 Science First Fermi GBM TGF Catalog released
2019-01-14 11 Science GRB 190114C became the first reported GRB with TeV emission
2020-04-15 12 Science Extragalactic giant magnetar flare detected as a short GRB
2020-06-16 12 Science GBM Accreting Pulsar 10-year Compendium paper published
2022-01-27 14 Science 4FGL-DR3 (12-year) Catalog released
2022-02-28 14 Science The LAT team has delivered 1.5 billion photons to the FSSC
2022-03-14 14 Data FSSC's LAT data server upgraded with new hardware.
2022-04-15 14 Science 2nd LAT GRB catalog updated to add GRBs detected since the original publication in 2018.
2022-05-12 14 Software GBM Data Tools v1.1.1 released
2022-06-21 14 Software Fermitools 2.2.0 released
2022-08-05 14 Operations 3-year mission extension approved by NASA (PDF)
2022-08-18 15 Operations AO 15 started
2022-10-09 15 Science Fermi detected high-energy emission from GRB 221009A
2023-07-31 15 Science 4FGL-DR4 (14-year) Catalog released
2023-07-31 15 Science Third Pulsar Catalog released
2023-08-17 16 Operations AO 16 started