Tag: IXPE
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IXPE Observations of a Magnetar May Capture a 90-Year-Old Quantum Prediction
Vacuum birefringence was first predicted by Werner Heisenberg in the 1930s. The idea holds that even a perfect vacuum is filled with virtual particles that alter the behavior of light. For nearly a century it has remained one of the most stubbornly unconfirmed predictions in quantum electrodynamics, with no direct observational evidence. The IXPE telescope…
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IXPE investigates microquasar jets, finds unexpected magnetic field structure
Creating some of the most powerful gravitational forces and fields in the universe, black holes are known for their extreme nature, including the ways in which they can devour and destroy whole planets and stars in a matter of seconds. When black holes consume planets, stars, and other cosmic objects, the matter from the collision…
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IXPE X-ray observatory completes commissioning, eyes Cassiopeia A for calibration
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…
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NASA, SpaceX launch IXPE x-ray observatory atop Falcon 9
NASA and SpaceX have launched the revolutionary Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space observatory from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Thursday morning atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1:00 a.m. EST (06:00 UTC). IXPE is a 325 kg, three-telescope polarized x-ray observatory. A joint venture between NASA and the Italian Space…
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As Ball completes design review for IXPE, SpaceX launch contract points to growing mission profiles
NASA’s award to SpaceX for the launch contract for their future X-ray telescope, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), points to SpaceX’s growing launch profile options for customers. This spacecraft would normally be a Pegasus mission due to its orbital requirements. However, SpaceX offered the capability via Falcon 9 and at a lower cost. IXPE…
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SpaceX wins NASA contract to launch X-ray telescope on reused rocket
File photo of a Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX NASA has selected a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — flying with a reused first stage booster — to launch the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in…
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NASA picks IXPE: Space telescope will study X-ray fingerprints of black holes
An artist’s conception shows the accretion disk around an active black hole. (NASA Illustration) NASA is committing $188 million to build and launch a space telescope to observe patterns in the X-ray radiation emanating from black holes, neutron stars and pulsars. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE, was chosen from a field of three…
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Orbital ATK has no plans to phase out seldom-used Pegasus rocket
In this view from an F/A-18 chase plane, Orbital ATK’s Pegasus XL rocket fires its first stage seconds after dropping from the belly of an L-1011 carrier plane Dec. 15. Credit: NASA/Lori Losey The build-up of Orbital ATK’s next air-launched Pegasus XL rocket will start in the coming weeks at Vandenberg Air Force Base in…
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NASA picks candidates for new space telescope
Artist’s concept of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), one of three finalists selected to be NASA’s newest astrophysics observatory. Credit: NASA NASA has selected three finalists for a new Explorer-class astrophysics satellite mission scheduled to launch by the end of 2020, and two of the proposals aim to fulfill similar goals to an X-ray…