---
title: TAI Delivers Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps for NASA's IXPE Mission
description: TAI delivers more graphite thermal straps (GFTS) to NASA's IXPE mission.  GFTS are used by both BATC and INFN on the spacecraft, set for launch in 2020.
image: https://www.techapps.com/hubfs/Ball%20Aerospace%20-%20IXPE%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps.png
---

![NASA IXPE Satellite](https://www.techapps.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ball%20Aerospace%20-%20IXPE%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps.png?width=1000&name=Ball%20Aerospace%20-%20IXPE%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps.png)

# TAI Delivers Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps for NASA's IXPE Mission

[ Tyler Link ](https://www.techapps.com/blog/author/tyler-link)  December 11, 2019

![Ball Aerospace - IXPE Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps](https://www.techapps.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ball%20Aerospace%20-%20IXPE%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps.png?width=700&name=Ball%20Aerospace%20-%20IXPE%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps.png)

I am thrilled to announce TAI just completed another set of Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps (GFTS®), destined for [NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Satellite](https://ixpe.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html), scheduled for launch in November 2020.  

![Ball Aerospace Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps - NASA IXPE_pic 2_smaller](https://www.techapps.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ball%20Aerospace%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps%20-%20NASA%20IXPE_pic%202_smaller.jpg?width=343&name=Ball%20Aerospace%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps%20-%20NASA%20IXPE_pic%202_smaller.jpg)

The TAI team just finished assembly and testing on these units, designed and manufactured for [Ball Aerospace](https://www.ball.com/aerospace/programs/ixpe), and will be supplying several dozen more flight model (FM) units to Ball in the coming months, in addition to the prototype and FM units delivered to the [Italy's Space Agency (ASI)](https://www.asi.it/en/#divThe) and the [National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN)](http://home.infn.it/en/media-outreach/news/2387-spazio-firmato-l-accordo-infn-asi-per-la-nuova-missione-ixpe-2), for their part on the IXPE Mission.

The straps are used by both Ball and INFN to provide a durable, highly-conductive thermal strap solution weighing in at just 1/10th the mass of an equivalent copper thermal strap, and are used to cool various components on IXPE (the X-ray polarization detectors provided by INFN use a TEC-GFTS hybrid thermal strap design highlighted in previous blogs).

 

**![NASA IXPE Satellite](https://www.techapps.com/hs-fs/hubfs/NASA%20IXPE%20Satellite.jpg?width=250&name=NASA%20IXPE%20Satellite.jpg)About the IXPE Mission**

"The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer will be launched on or after November 20, 2020 into a 540-km circular orbit at 0° inclination. During IXPE's two-year mission, targets such as active galactic nuclei (AGN), microquasars, pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, magnetars, accreting X-ray binaries, supernova remnants, and the Galactic center will be studied.

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) exploits the polarization state of light from astrophysical sources to provide insight into our understanding of X-ray production in objects such as neutron stars and pulsar wind nebulae, as well as stellar and supermassive [black holes](http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/blackholes.html). Technical and science objectives include:

- improving polarization sensitivity by two orders of magnitude over the X-ray polarimeter aboard the Orbiting Solar Observatory [OSO-8](http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/missions-projects/quick-facts-oso-8/) (scientists see [HEASARC: Observatories)](https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/oso8/oso8_about.html),
- providing simultaneous spectral, spatial, and temporal measurements,
- determining the geometry and the emission mechanism of [Active Galactic Nuclei and microquasars](http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/quasars.html),
- finding the magnetic field configuration in magnetars and determining the magnitude of the field,
- finding the mechanism for X ray production in [pulsars](http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/neutron_stars.html) (both isolated and accreting) and the geometry,
- determining how particles are accelerated in Pulsar Wind Nebulae."

-Image credit: [https://www.ball.com/aerospace/programs/ixpe](https://www.ball.com/aerospace/programs/ixpe)

-Written content credit: [https://ixpe.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html](https://ixpe.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html)

 

**We greatly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this important program, and look forward to our continued work with INFN, Ball Aerospace, and NASA!**

#### Topics:

[graphite thermal straps](https://www.techapps.com/blog/topic/graphite-thermal-straps) , [NASA IXPE Mission](https://www.techapps.com/blog/topic/nasa-ixpe-mission) , [Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps](https://www.techapps.com/blog/topic/graphite-fiber-thermal-straps)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "Organization",
  "logo" : "https://www.techapps.com/hubfs/logo.svg",
  "url" : "https://www.techapps.com"
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "NewsArticle",
  "author" : [ {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Tyler Link",
    "url" : "https://www.techapps.com/blog/author/tyler-link"
  } ],
  "dateModified" : "2019-12-11 10:24:21",
  "datePublished" : "2019-12-11 10:24:21",
  "headline" : "TAI Delivers Graphite Fiber Thermal Straps for NASA's IXPE Mission",
  "image" : [ "https://www.techapps.com/hubfs/Ball%20Aerospace%20-%20IXPE%20Graphite%20Fiber%20Thermal%20Straps.png" ]
}
```