December 9, 2021

The IXPE space telescope blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Photo NASA/Joel Kowsky)

A few hours ago, the NASA and Italian Space Agency IXPE space telescope was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral base. After just over 33 minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and made the necessary maneuvers to enter an equatorial orbit at an altitude of about 600 kilometers. There, after having extended its structure and after the test phase, it will begin its scientific mission to measure the polarization of cosmic X-rays, the first instrument of this type.