Launch of the IXPE Observatory

Explanation: Birds don't fly this high. Airplanes don't go this fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even comprehend what is going on , nor could any human just a millennium ago . The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe and challenges description. Pictured here , a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center , Florida earlier this month carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is scheduled to observe high-energy objects such as neutron stars , black holes, and the centers of distant galaxies to better determine the physics and geometries that create and control them. From a standing start, the 300,000+ kilogram rocket ship lifted IXPE up to circle the Earth , where the outside air is too thin to breathe. Rockets bound for space are now launched from somewhere on Earth every few days .

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