The Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): Technical Overview IV

• Published in: SPIE Conference Proceedings
• Main Authors: Ramsey, Brian D, Primo Attina, Baldini, Luca, Barbanera, Mattia, Baumgartner, Wayne H, Bellazzini, Ronaldo, Bladt, Jeff, Bongiorno, Stephen D, Brez, Alessandro, Castellano, Simone, Carpentiero, Rita, Castronuovo, Marco, Cavalli, Luca, Cavazzuti, Elisabetta, DAmico, Fabio, Citraro, Saverio, Costa, Enrico, Deininger, William D, D'Alba, Elisa, Ettore Del Monte, Dietz, Kurtis L, Niccolo Di Lalla, Alessandro Di Marco, DiPersio, Giuseppe, Donnarumma, Immacolata, Fabiani, Sergio, Ferrazzoli, Riccardo, Footdale, Joseph, Head, Michael, Houston, Janice, Kalinowski, William, Kolodziejczak, Jeffery J, Latronico, Luca, Lefevre, Carlo, Lorenzi, Paolo, Lucchesi, Leonardo, Maldera, Simone, Manfreda, Alberto, Mangraviti, Elio, Marshall, Herman L, Giorgio, Matt, Minuti, Massimo, Mize, Rondal, Muleri, Fabio, Nasimi, Hikmat, Negri, Barbara, Nuti, Alessio, O'Dell, Stephen L, Orsini, Leonardo, Osborne, Darren, Pentz, Christina, Pilia, Maura, Perri, Matteo
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Hampton NASA/Langley Research Center 16.12.2021
• Subjects: Polarimetry; Space missions; Spacecraft attitude control; Spacecraft tracking; Telemetry; Telescopes; Three axis stabilization; X ray detectors; X ray imagery; X ray sources

Scheduled to launch in late 2021,the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a Small Explorer Mission designed to open up a new window of investigation --X-ray polarimetry. The IXPE observatory features 3 identical telescopes each consisting of a mirror module assembly with a polarization-sensitive imaging x-ray detector at its focus. An extending boom, deployed on orbit, provides the necessary 4 m focal length. The payload sits atop a 3-axis stabilized spacecraft which, among other things, provides power, attitude determination and control, commanding, and telemetry to the ground. During its 2-year baseline mission, IXPE will conduct precise polarimetry for samples of multiple categories of x-ray sources, with follow-on observations of selected targets. IXPE is a partnership between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).