| A | B |
|---|---|
| IXPE satellite, on the top are its three identical X-ray optics elements, the sensors are on the bottom. | … |
| Names | Explorer 97 IXPE SMEX-14 |
| Mission type | X-ray polarimetry |
| Operator | NASA, ASI |
| COSPAR ID | 2021-121A |
| SATCAT no. | 49954 |
| Website | ixpe.msfc.nasa.gov asi.it/ixpe |
| Mission duration | 5 years (planned) 4 years, 6 months and 17 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | … |
| Spacecraft | Explorer XCVII |
| Spacecraft type | Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer |
| Bus | BCP-100 |
| Manufacturer | Ball Aerospace & Technologies OHB Italia |
| Launch mass | 330 kg (730 lb)1 |
| Payload mass | 170 kg (370 lb) |
| Dimensions | 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) in diameter and 5.2 m (17 ft) tall, fully extended Solar array: 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) fully deployed |
| Start of mission | … |
| Launch date | 9 December 2021, 06:00 UTC2 |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 B1061-5 |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Entered service | 10 January 20223 |
| Orbital parameters | … |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 540 km (340 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 540 km (340 mi) |
| Inclination | 0.20° |
| Period | 90.00 minutes |
| Main telescope | … |
| Type | Three-mirror |
| Focal length | 4 m4 |
| Wavelengths | X-ray |
| Transponders | … |
| Band | S-band5 |
IXPE mission logo Explorers Program | … |
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer
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Footnotes
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“IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)”. eoportal.com. ESA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2019. ↩
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“IXPE Home: Expanding the X-ray View of the Universe”. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). NASA. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. ↩
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“IXPE X-ray observatory completes commissioning, eyes Cassiopeia A for calibration”. NASASpaceFlight.com. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022. ↩
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Weisskopf, Martin C.; Ramsey, Brian; o’Dell, Stephen L.; Tennant, Allyn; Elsner, Ronald; Soffitta, Paolo; Bellazzini, Ronaldo; Costa, Enrico; Kolodziejczak, Jeffery; Kaspi, Victoria; Muleri, Fabio; Marshall, Herman; Matt, Giorgio; Romani, Roger (31 October 2016). “The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)”. Results in Physics. 6: 1179–1180. Bibcode:2016ResPh…6.1179W. doi:10.1016/j.rinp.2016.10.021. hdl:2060/20160007987. ↩
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“IXPE Fact Sheet” (PDF). NASA. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. ↩