The AGILE space mission

Tavani, M.; Barbiellini, G.; Argan, A.; Bulgarelli, A.; Caraveo, P.; Chen, A.; Cocco, V.; Costa, E.; Paris, G. D.; Monte, E. D.; Cocco, G. D.; Donnarumma, I.; Feroci, M.; Florini, M.; Froysland, T.; Fuschino, F.; Galli, M.; Gianotti, F.; Giuliani, A.; Evangelista, Y.; Labanti, C.; Lapshov, I.; Lazzarotto, F.; Lipari, P.; Longo, Francesco; Marisaldi, M.; Mastropietro, M.; Mauri, F.; Mereghetti, S.; Morelli, E.; Morselli, A.; Pacciani, L.; Pellizzoni, A.; Perotti, F.; Picozza, P.; Pontoni, C.; Porrovecchio, G.; Prest, M.; Pucella, G.; Rapisarda, M.; Rossi, E.; Rubini, A.; Soffitta, P.; Trifoglio, M.; Trois, A.; Vallazza, E.; Vercellone, S.; Zarnbra, A.; Zanello, D.; Giommi, P.; Antonelli, A.; Pittori, C.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2008.01.023

AGILE is an Italian Space Agency mission dedicated to the exploration of the gamma-ray Universe. The AGILE, very innovative instrument, combines for the first time a gamma-ray imager (sensitive in the range 30 MeV-50 GeV) and a hard X-ray imager (sensitive in the range 18-60 keV). An optimal angular resolution and very large fields of view are obtained by the use of state-of-the-art Silicon detectors integrated in a very compact instrument. AGILE was successfully launched on April 23, 2007 from the Indian base of Sriharikota and was inserted in an optimal low-particle background equatorial orbit. AGILE will provide crucial data for the study of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, unidentified gamma-ray sources, galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing. The AGILE Cycle-1 pointing program started on 2007 December 1, and is open to the international community through a Guest Observer Program.