NASAs HETE 2 (High Energy Transient Explorer 2) detected and localized gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Using a suite of instruments that simultaneously observed low-energy X-rays to gamma rays, HETE 2 computed the location of bursts on board and transmitted their coordinates as soon as they were calculated. These were then quickly distributed to ground-based observers, enabling detailed studies of the initial GRB phases.
