On the Making of IXPE

Abstract

Drs. Weisskopf and Ramsey were the original Principal and Deputy Principal Investigators of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). They outline the path to the development of IXPE and discuss the technical and programmatic history that led up to the mission, a partnership between the Italian Space Agency and NASA, and the first fully dedicated to imaging X-ray polarimetry in the 2–8 keV band. An admittedly biased, as seen through the eyes of the original and Deputy Principal Investigators, technical overview of the development of the historical and critical scientific instrumentation is provided. The outstanding, and often paradigm-shifting results are presented in the papers following this one.