NASA Invites Media to Launch of IXPE Mission to Study X-rays in Space

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Media accreditation is open for the upcoming launch of NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, which will measure polarized X-rays from exotic cosmic objects, such as black holes and neutron stars, to better understand these types of phenomena and extreme environments.

IXPE is scheduled to launch no earlier than Dec. 9 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credentialing deadlines are as follows:

• International media residing in the U.S. must apply by Friday, Nov 5, 2021.
• U.S. media must apply by Monday, Nov 15, 2021.

NASA's media accreditation policy is available online. Requests must be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo 321-501-8425.

COVID-19 protocols at Kennedy

NASA's COVID-19 policies are updated as necessary and to remain consistent with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce. COVID-19 safety protocols for this event will be communicated closer to the date of the event. The agency also will communicate any updates that may impact mission planning or media access as necessary.

More about IXPE

This astrophysics mission will allow astronomers to discover, for the first time, the hidden details of some of the most exotic astronomical objects in our universe. IXPE is the first satellite mission dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources. Polarization is an intrinsic characteristic of light that can vary as it travels through different environments. The mission will fly three space telescopes with sensitive detectors capable of measuring the polarization of cosmic X-rays, allowing scientists to answer fundamental questions about these extremely complex environments where gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields are at their limits.

IXPE is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, led by principal investigator Martin Weisskopf at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations with support from the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorers Program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The launch is managed by NASA's Launch Services Program.

For more information about the IXPE mission, visit:

https://ixpe.msfc.nasa.gov/ 

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SOURCE NASA