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in less than 30 minutes this spacex

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falcon 9 rocket will launch xp giving us

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a new set of eyes to explore outer space

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over a two-year mission it will use its

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unique x-ray vision to study some of the

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most mysterious and powerful objects in

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our universe

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thank you for joining us this morning

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live from kennedy space center in

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florida i'm megan cruz and i'm marie

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lewis liftoff is set for one o'clock am

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sharp eastern time from just behind us

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at historic launch complex 39a ixp is

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nasa's first mission to study polarized

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x-rays simply put it will help us

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understand how the universe works the

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mission will focus on objects like black

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holes and exploded stars honing in on

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their cosmic x-rays these rays originate

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from places where matter is under

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extreme conditions violent collisions

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enormous explosions 10 million degree

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temperatures and fast rotations and xv

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is unique because it will pinpoint x-ray

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polarization

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soon after launching xp will deploy its

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solar arrays which will power the

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spacecraft after about a week in space

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xp will extend its boom

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lengthening the spacecraft to about the

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size of a minivan there that boom goes

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about a month after launch xp will begin

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its two-year mission using three

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identical telescopes each with a set of

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mirrors those mirrors have corresponding

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detectors on the opposite end of the

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boom the mirrors collect x-rays from the

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celestial objects and focus them on the

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detectors which make an image of those

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x-rays and measure polarization

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polarization is a property of light like

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brightness and color x-rays are a form

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of high-energy light that's invisible to

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the human eye by studying the polarized

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x-rays of these powerful objects we can

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learn more about what they're made of

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and how they work

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today's launch is managed by nasa's

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launch services program in cooperation

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with the agency's marshall space flight

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center the italian space agency and ball

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aerospace and here are some other

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interesting facts about xp by the

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numbers the bottom of the observatory

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called the spacecraft bus is nearly four

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feet in diameter up top is the mirror

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module support structure deck that's

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almost five feet in diameter the boom is

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12 feet long bringing the fully extended

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observatory height to 17 feet

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xp's solar array wingspan is 8 feet put

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it all together and xp weighs 727 pounds

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roughly the same as a polar bear it will

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study about 40 celestial objects during

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its first year in space with more

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detailed follow-up observations in its

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second year

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and dixby arrived at cape canaveral

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space force station on november 5th for

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final pre-launch testing teams attached

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it to the falcon 9 rocket last week and

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now here we are stacked and vertical on