NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Prepares for Environmental Testing
Despite COVID-19-related hurdles, NASA's newest X-ray astronomy mission is a step closer to launch. Engineers recently completed integration of the agency's Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE, at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado. Now, Ball will put the fully assembled observatory through a series of tests that simulate the harsh conditions the small spacecraft will encounter on its rocket trip into space in late 2021.
"Reaching this milestone is a testament to the experience, commitment, and expertise of the IXPE team and our partners around the world," said IXPE principal investigator Martin Weisskopf of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, who first conceived of the mission 30 years ago. "We're all looking forward to providing world-class science and expanding our view of the X-ray universe."
IXPE is the first small satellite mission dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources — from black holes to exploded stars and jets traveling near the speed of light. IXPE's polarization measurements will complement observations from other telescopes in space now, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, adding new details about the nature of these mysterious objects and the environments close to them.
Upon completion, the IXPE observatory will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, for launch from launch complex 39A on a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle.
Image credit: Ball Aerospace
#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #ImagingX-RayPolarimetryExplorer #IXPE #astronomy #space #astrophysics #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #solarsystemandbeyond #pulsar
NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Prepares for Environmental Testing
Despite COVID-19-related hurdles, NASA's newest X-ray astronomy mission is a step closer to launch. Engineers recently completed integration of the agency's Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE, at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado. Now, Ball will put the fully assembled observatory through a series of tests that simulate the harsh conditions the small spacecraft will encounter on its rocket trip into space in late 2021.
"Reaching this milestone is a testament to the experience, commitment, and expertise of the IXPE team and our partners around the world," said IXPE principal investigator Martin Weisskopf of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, who first conceived of the mission 30 years ago. "We're all looking forward to providing world-class science and expanding our view of the X-ray universe."
IXPE is the first small satellite mission dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources — from black holes to exploded stars and jets traveling near the speed of light. IXPE's polarization measurements will complement observations from other telescopes in space now, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, adding new details about the nature of these mysterious objects and the environments close to them.
Upon completion, the IXPE observatory will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, for launch from launch complex 39A on a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle.
Image credit: Ball Aerospace
#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #ImagingX-RayPolarimetryExplorer #IXPE #astronomy #space #astrophysics #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #solarsystemandbeyond #pulsar