Falcon 9 Block 5 | X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)
SpaceX · Falcon 9 Block 5 · Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
SpaceX's 149th launch · 32nd this year · humanity's 6,166th orbital launch attempt
The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
Window: Dec 9, 06:00 – Dec 9, 07:30 UTC
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IXPE
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a space observatory tasked with measuring the polarization of cosmic X-rays. This data will help to learn more about objects that emit these X-rays, such as black holes and neutron stars.
Astrophysics · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Booster
- B1061 · flight 5 · Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship @ Just Read the Instructions · landed ✓ · last flew Falcon 9 Block 5 | Dragon CRS-2 SpX-23 · zone record 156/157
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NASA’s Chandra and IXPE Study Pulsar in Lighthouse Nebula
This composite image, released on July 9, 2026, shows the region around a pulsar – a neutron star with a strong magnetic field that spins incredibly fast – within the Lighthouse nebula. The image contains X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory in purple, X-rays from NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) in blue, and […]
NASA Space Telescope Maps Magnetic Fields of ‘Lighthouse’ Pulsar
For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) to directly measure the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the Lighthouse Nebula. The results provide new insight into the structure of some of the most extreme objects in the cosmos, as NASA […]
