Yesterday was the grand opening for the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM) Instrument Operations Center (GIOC), right down the hall from my office. The second floor conference room was packed! Chip gave a brief overview of what GLAST will do, and went into some of the specifics of the GBM instrument. John Horack reminisced about the BATSE days.

We then all made out way to the new operations center, a collection of three rooms (to be honest, I can't even remember what used to be there, some nondescript offices, I suppose). Chip gave an introduction to the center, then was interviewed by the media. Refreshments were served, and people socialized. Rob showed me two computers with live data from the instrument (currently in Florida awaiting launch) and the current GMB software link information. I admired a beautiful artist rendering of a GRB displayed as a large tile mosaic on the wall. I was introduced to the monkey that sits on backs (inside joke).

Information about the GIOC and yesterday's grand opening can be found at:
NASA news release
Huntsville Times article

The launch is scheduled for May 16.