Artists representation of IXPE in Earth orbit. Credit: NASA
NASAs most recent X-ray observatory– the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE– extended its boom effectively December 15, providing IXPE the ability to see high-energy X-rays. The objective, which launched on December 9, is one action more detailed to studying a few of the most energetic and mystical places in deep space in a brand-new method.
By NASA
December 17, 2021
The IXPE observatory features three similar telescopes, each with a mirror assembly and a polarization-sensitive detector. To focus X-rays, IXPEs mirrors need to be about 13 feet (4 meters) far from the detectors. Thats too big to fit inside some rocket fairings. IXPEs boom had to fold up, like origami, into a 12-inch (0.3-meter) cannister and stretch out again in orbit.
” For those people in the area game, moving parts are constantly frightening,” said Martin Weisskopf, IXPEs primary private investigator at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. “Right now, Im smiling from ear to ear.”
With the boom now deployed, mission professionals are ready to focus on commissioning the telescopes, preparing them for the spacecrafts first science.