The X-ray telescope X-Calibur underwent compatibility tests on September 7, 2016. Photo by WUSTL
FORT SUMNER, N.M., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Engineers at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility are preparing to launch X-Calibur, a novel new telescope built to image polarized X-rays. The telescope was designed and built by a team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis.
Launches are always dependent on weather, but X-Calibur's takeoff and flight are especially at the mercy of the wind. The telescope is being carried to near-space by a giant balloon -- not a rocket or plane.
There is no set launch window, but the balloon is ready and waiting for cooperative weather. Officials say it could come at any time.
X-Calibur will be carried past 99 percent of Earth's atmosphere to an elevation of 125,000 feet. From there, scientists hope the telescope will catch a wind shift called the "stratospheric turnaround." Ideally, the upper atmospheric winds will propel the balloon and telescope west and then east, keeping the instrument aloft for 16 hours.
Once at the edge of space, X-Calibur will aim its X-ray imaging apparatus at a variety of emissions sources in the Milky Way, including black holes, neutron stars and pulsars.
The X-ray polarization -- the plane on which the X-rays' electric field oscillates -- will reveal where the emissions originate. This information will help scientists understand how neutron stars and black holes grow.
X-Calibur features a combination of mirrors and detectors positioned on both sides of a 26-foot-long truss. The instrument focuses the fielded X-ray emissions at a central point. It's a system both delicate and cumbersome. To properly image an X-ray source, the entire truss must be raised and pointed in the exact direction of the distant object.
Despite the challenge, scientists are confident X-Calibur will have impressive accuracy thanks to a pointing system called WASP, designed by engineers at the Wallops Flight Facility.
Once the telescope is launched, status updates -- including location, altitude and speed -- will be posted online.
As scientists and engineers wait for a suitable launch window, viewers can watch the launch crew stay busy inside the hangar at NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility.
