JAKARTA, iNews.id – SpaceX successfully launched the 28th rocket this year Thursday (9/12) local time. The rocket, flown by the space company Elon Musk, takes the X-ray observatory into space for NASA.
The Falcon 9 rocket launches from Pad 39A, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The mission marked the fifth flight for this particular booster.
“The lifting of Falcon 9 and IXPE, a new set of X-ray eyes to see the mysteries of our sky,” NASA TV launch commentator Derrol Nail said during a live webcast.
The IXPE satellite is a $214 million mission that aims to investigate the physics behind some of the universe’s most dynamic objects: black holes and neutron stars. Astronomers hope this refrigerator-sized satellite will be their new tool for investigating the mysteries of the universe.
Equipped with three identical telescopes, IXPE will study the polarization of light, meaning how light waves oscillate relative to the direction of the waves from some of the most dramatic cosmic sources in the universe. Astronomers will be able to fine-tune the structure and study the mechanisms that drive this enigmatic cosmic object.
“What polarization says depends on the source,” said Martin Weisskopf, IXPE principal investigator.
Weisskopf further explains. Black holes, for example, don’t have many properties but scientists can measure their spin by looking at variations in the polarimetry of X-rays emanating from these sources.
IXPE will join the ranks of other NASA X-ray satellites, such as the Chandra Space Telescope, which orbit much higher than IXPE. Chandra is an imaging satellite that takes beautiful pictures of X-ray sources, while IXPE will focus only on light polarimetry.
Editor: Dini Listiyani
