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.
NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) project with a strong contribution from the Italian Space Agency aims to take X-ray astronomy one step further. This space telescope is equipped with three very advanced telescopes that are equipped with polarization detectors. Polarization is a property of electromagnetic emissions generated by their sources. Consequently, the ability to measure the polarization of observed X-rays offers clues to the environment in which they were generated. The detector technology was developed by the Italian Space Agency in collaboration with the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics and the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics.
Cosmic X-rays are emitted by very energetic objects such as active galactic nuclei, neutron stars, supernova remnants, binary systems in which one of the two stars steals gas from its companion, and in others. This will allow obtaining higher quality information on them to understand the processes taking place in extreme environments, allowing to study relativistic and quantum effects as well.
The IXPE space telescope is small with a length of just over one meter in its launch configuration. For this reason, it was originally supposed to be launched on a Pegasus X, a small rocket that is launched from an airplane. However, SpaceX offers relatively very low prices thanks to the reuse of its Falcon 9 rocket’s first stages and the launch can take place in Florida, minimizing the need to transport the spacecraft. IXPE has a mass of only 330 kg but the particular orbit in which it will work required a series of decidedly out of the ordinary maneuvers.
After separating from the Falcon 9 rocket’s last stage, the IXPE space telescope regularly deployed its solar panels and began sending signals. If everything works as expected, in a few weeks it will begin its primary mission, lasting two years. For a coincidence, it was launched on the day of the third anniversary of the death of Riccardo Giacconi, father of X-ray astronomy and Nobel Prize in physics. Also thinking of the crucial Italian contribution to the IXPE mission, he would be proud of it.
