  The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is a next generation high
energy gamma-ray observatory due for launch in Fall 2007. The primary
instrument is the Large Area Telescope (LAT), which will measure gamma-ray flux
and spectra from 20 MeV to > 300 GeV and is a successor to the highly
successful EGRET experiment on CGRO. The LAT will have better angular
resolution, greater effective area, wider field of view and broader energy
coverage than any previous experiment in this energy range. An overview of the
LAT instrument design and construction is presented which includes performance
estimates with particular emphasis on how these apply to strudies of
microquasars. The nature and quality of the data that will be provided by the
LAT is described with results from recent detailed simulations that illustrate
the potential of the LAT to observe gamma ray variability and spectra.
