The Falcon 9 rocket’s nine Merlin engines have finished their burn for main engine cutoff (MECO), and the first stage has separated from the rocket.
As the second stage continues carrying IXPE on its flight, the rocket’s first stage will attempt a targeted landing on SpaceX’s drone ship “Just Read the Directions.” That’s coming up shortly.
3, 2, 1 … LIFTOFF! NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft lights up the early morning Florida sky as it roars off the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the agency’s first dedicated mission to measuring X-ray polarization.
Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters, stated during the mission’s prelaunch media conference: “Understanding our galaxy and our place in the universe is awe inspiring and we want to make sure that we’re inspiring the future generation of our scientists and engineers.”
IXPE is now on its way to play a part in doing just that. Stay right here on the blog, or tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website to watch the spacecraft and rocket eclipse more launch milestones.
NASA Launch Director Tim Dunn gives the final ‘go’ for the agency’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launch!
The Kennedy Space Center skies soon will be lit up as the Falcon 9 rocket fires up to launch the mission into space.
Everything is looking great as NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, prepares to launch into the sky from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We are now just about 5 minutes away from liftoff.
NASA Launch Director Tim Dunn reported the rocket is on internal power and it is ready to launch. Stage 1 launch load is complete.
In just about 10 minutes, the Falcon 9 rocket’s nine Merlin engines will roar to life, sending SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft into space. The rocket has been fueled with liquid oxygen and RP-1 – rocket-grade kerosene. The Falcon 9’s engines are chilling in preparation for launch.
Excitement is building as IXPE, NASA’s first dedicated mission to measuring X-ray polarization, nears launch. IXPE will study changes in the polarization of X-ray light through some of the universe’s most extreme sources, including black holes, dead stars known as pulsars, and more.
The weather outlook for NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launch from Kennedy Space Center remains outstanding. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a greater than 90% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff of NASA’s first dedicated mission to measuring X-ray polarization.
Propellant load is underway, which eliminates IXPE’s 90-minute launch window.
“We have committed to this and we are committed to a T-zero at 1 a.m.,” said Mic Woltman of NASA Communications.
Here are some fun facts you may not know about NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission:
Stay right here for continued blog coverage, or tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website, which started at 12:30 a.m. EST, for live broadcast coverage of IXPE launch day activities. Launch is set for 1 a.m. EST from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website, starting in about 10 minutes (12:30 a.m. EST), for live broadcast coverage of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission.
Liftoff, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, is targeted for 1 a.m. EST. The Launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy.
IXPE will study changes in the polarization of X-ray light through some of the universe’s most extreme sources, including black holes, dead stars known as pulsars, and more. The mission is NASA’s first dedicated to measuring X-ray polarization.
Click here to learn more about the IXPE mission.
Here is a look at some of the key milestones for today’s IXPE launch:
Mission Timeline (all times approximate)
LAUNCH AND SPACECRAFT DEPLOYMENT
Time Events
1 a.m. EST Liftoff
T+153 sec First stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
T+156 sec First and second stages separate
T+164 sec Second stage engine start 1 (SES-1)
T+220 sec Fairing deploy
8.1 min Second stage engine cutoff 1 (SECO-1)
28.7 min Second stage engine start 2 (SES-2)
29.8 min Second stage engine cutoff 2 (SECO-2)
33.3 min Spacecraft separation
66.7 min Second stage deorbit burn
IXPE’s launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is now about 40 minutes away. Coverage of launch day activities will continue here on the blog. Also, tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website, starting at 12:30 a.m. EST for a live broadcast. Liftoff, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, is targeted for 1 a.m.
The weather outlook for today’s early morning launch of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center is terrific. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff, with the cumulus cloud rule serving as the primary weather concern.
A collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, IXPE is NASA’s first mission dedicated to measuring X-ray polarization. Launch, which is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, is targeted for 1 a.m. EST from the Florida spaceport’s Launch Complex 39A.
Coverage of launch day activities will continue here on the blog throughout IXPE’s milestones. Also, tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website, starting at 12:30 a.m. EST for a live broadcast.
