IXPE launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing (mission control audio)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 9 December 2021 at 06:00 UTC (01:00 EST). The IXPE spacecraft includes three space telescopes with sensitive detectors capable of measuring the polarization of cosmic X-rays, allowing scientists to answer fundamental questions about extremely complex environments in space where gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields are at their limits. The project is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, located in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9’s first stage (B1061) previously supported launch of Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, and CRS-23. Credit: NASA/SpaceX