The primary objective of the GBM is to augment the GLAST LAT scientific return from gamma-ray bursts (GRB). This will be achieved by:

• extending the energy range of burst spectra down to 5 keV.
• providing real time burst locations over a wide field-of-view (FOV) with sufficient accuracy to repoint the GLAST spacecraft.

In addition to supplementing or initiating LAT GRB observations, the GBM scientific program will include:

• the generation and dissemination of near real-time burst locations accurate enough to initiate counterpart searches by ground or space-based observers.
• an untriggered burst search in the GBM data to extend the detection threshold to an estimated 0.35 ph/cm²/s.
• production and publication of a catalog of GRBs detected by the GBM including those uncovered in the search for untriggered events. This catalog will contain parameters such as burst fluence, peak flux, and duration.
• the availability of archived data for investigations into non-GRB phenomena such as solar flares, galactic black-hole candidates, and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGR), which may be strong and variable above background radiation levels in the hard X-ray regime.