The GLAST LAT science instrument

The LAT science instrument of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) mission is a gamma-ray pair-conversion telescope designed to improve upon the sensitivity of previous such instruments by at least a factor of 30. The LAT design is based upon a silicon-strip tracker/converter, a cesium-iodide calorimeter, and a plastic-scintillator anticoincidence shield. Manufacture of the instrument is beginning, with the launch scheduled for the end of 2006. This talk gives an overview of the LAT science objectives, the LAT design, and the status of the instrument production.