NASA is launching a new mission to explore the most dramatic objects in the universe
Imaging NASA The X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission was launched on Thursday at 1 a.m. with an EST SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The IXPE Observatory, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, is NASA’s first mission to measure the polarization of X-rays from the most extreme and mysterious objects in the universe — supernova remnants, supermassive black holes, and dozens of other high-energy ones. objects.
“IXPE represents the second exceptional first,” he said Thomas Zurbuchen, Deputy Head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA’s Washington Headquarters.
He continued: “Together with our Italian and global partners, we have added a new space observatory to our fleet that will reshape our understanding of the universe for years to come. Each NASA spacecraft has been carefully selected to target entirely new discoveries. , like exploding stars and black holes in the middle of galaxies, in ways we’ve never seen it. “
The rocket operated as expected and the spacecraft were detached 33 minutes after the flight. About a minute later, the spacecraft opened its solar panel. IXPE orbited the Earth’s equator at an altitude of about 372 miles (600 kilometers). About 40 minutes after launch, operators received the first spacecraft telemetry data.
“It’s an indescribable feeling to see things that have worked for decades come true and go out into space,” he said. Martin Weisskopf, IXPE Chief Scientist at NASA ‘s Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Weisskopf came up with the idea for the spacecraft and has been conducting significant experiments in X-ray astronomy since the 1970s. He added: “This is just the beginning for IXPE. We have a lot of work ahead of us. But tonight we’re celebrating!”
The IXPE has three state-of-the-art space telescopes with special polarization-sensitive detectors. Polarization is a property of light that contains clues to the environment from which the light originated. The new mission builds on and complements the scientific discoveries of other telescopes, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA’s flagship X-ray telescope. The first light operations are scheduled to begin in January.
NASA Marshall manages the IXPE mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate on a project for the NASA Exploratory Program. IXPE is an international collaboration between NASA, the Italian Space Agency, and partners and service providers in 12 other countries. Marshall built three X-ray telescopes. The Italian Space Agency participated in the development of IXPE polarization detectors.
Ball Aerospace at Broomfield, Colorado, delivered the spacecraft and managed the spacecraft operations at the University of Colorado’s Boulder Atmospheric and Space Physics Laboratory. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorers program.
Source: ANI