The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) was launched on December 9, 2021, from Cape Canaveral into a low-Earth equatorial orbit. The mission, led by NASA in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), features three identical telescopes, each with an imaging X-ray photoelectric polarimeter at the focus of an X-ray mirror assembly. Each focal-plane detector includes a set of 4 calibration sources powered by a Fe-55 nuclide to monitor the detector's performance. Of these sources, one produces polarized X-rays at two energies and the remaining three generate unpolarized radiation. Here we present the status of this monitoring program, starting from installation of the flight nuclides before on-ground environmental testing of the observatory through recent on-orbit measurements during science operations.
In-orbit monitoring of the imaging X-ray polarimeters on-board IXPE
Baldini, L;Manfreda, A;
2022-01-01
Abstract
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) was launched on December 9, 2021, from Cape Canaveral into a low-Earth equatorial orbit. The mission, led by NASA in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), features three identical telescopes, each with an imaging X-ray photoelectric polarimeter at the focus of an X-ray mirror assembly. Each focal-plane detector includes a set of 4 calibration sources powered by a Fe-55 nuclide to monitor the detector's performance. Of these sources, one produces polarized X-rays at two energies and the remaining three generate unpolarized radiation. Here we present the status of this monitoring program, starting from installation of the flight nuclides before on-ground environmental testing of the observatory through recent on-orbit measurements during science operations.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
