The pioneering Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) telescope, the first observatory in space to perform detailed polarimetry of some of the highest-energy objects the universe has to offer, has ended its highly-successful commissioning phase just over 30 days after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on December 9, 2021, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
As commissioning comes to an end and project leads turn their attention to the calibration of IXPE’s first-of-their-kind instruments with the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, NASASpaceflight spoke with Principal Investigator Dr. Martin Weisskopf about the status of the mission and how the first-of-its-kind telescope will be calibrated.