Abstract
The Swift satellite, a NASA Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) mission scheduled for launch in July, 2004, is a multi-wavelength observatory for rapid-response observations of astrophysical transients. Swift is composed of three co-aligned telescopes covering an energy range from 7 eV (170 nm) to 150 keV. The Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) is a coded aperture hard X-ray imager, which serves as the γ-ray burst (GRB) trigger for Swift. The Narrow Field Instruments (NFIs) are the Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and the X-ray Telescope (XRT). The Swift satellite has the ability to rapidly maneuver to point all there instruments at a bursting source within a minute of detection. Rapid burst alerts will be distributed through the GRB Coordinates Network (GCN) and all Swift data will become public as soon as it is processed. Secondary science for Swift includes detecting astrophysical transients on time scales of from 5 min to several hours and immediately alerting the astrophysical community of such events. Furthermore, the BAT instrument will be used for a high sensitivity hard X-ray all-sky survey which is expected to detect as many as 400 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN).
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