The mission will study exotic astronomical objects and permit mapping of the magnetic fields of black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, supernova remnants, magnetars, quasars, and active galactic nuclei.

[3] The international collaboration was signed in June 2017,[1] when the Italian Space Agency (ASI) committed to provide the X-ray polarization detectors.

[10] The technical and science objectives include:[3] The space observatory features three identical telescopes designed to measure the polarization of cosmic X-rays.

[4][11][12] IXPE's payload is a set of three identical imaging X-ray polarimetry systems mounted on a common optical bench and co-aligned with the pointing axis of the spacecraft.

[1] Each system operates independently for redundancy and comprises a mirror module assembly that focuses X-rays onto a polarization-sensitive imaging detector developed in Italy.

[4] Position-dependent and energy-dependent polarization maps of such synchrotron-emitting sources will reveal the magnetic-field structure of the X-ray emitting regions.

Instead, the rocket needed to launch due east into a parking orbit and then perform a plane, or inclination, change once in space, as the spacecraft crossed the equator.

[14] IXPE is the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars.