The pioneering Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) telescope, the first observatory in space to perform detailed polarimetry of some of the highest-energy objects the universe has to offer, has ended its highly-successful commissioning phase just over 30 days after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on December 9, 2021, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.<\/p>\n
As commissioning comes to an end and project leads turn their attention to the calibration of IXPE\u2019s first-of-their-kind instruments with the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, NASASpaceflight spoke with Principal Investigator Dr. Martin Weisskopf about the status of the mission and how the first-of-its-kind telescope will be calibrated.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
IXPE itself is a joint project between NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Placed into a 600 km (+\/- 15 km) circular equatorial orbit inclined just 0.2 degrees to the Equator, the 330-kilogram IXPE deployed its solar arrays very shortly after separating from its launch vehicle while mission controllers prepared for the month-long commissioning phase.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft completed the most critical step of this process on December 15 when the all-important boom containing the spacecraft\u2019s three X-ray telescopes deployed successfully.<\/p>\n
Without that deployment, the IXPE mission would have ended before it could have begun as the telescopes need to be mounted away from the spacecraft\u2019s main body to achieve the correct focal length for their observations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n