We present an XMM-Newton observation of the highly polarized low-surface brightness supernova remnant G107.5-1.5, discovered with the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS). We do not detect diffuse X-ray emission from the SNR and set an upper limit o
n the surface brightness of ~2 x 10^30 erg arcmin^-2 s^-1, at an assumed distance of 1.1 kpc. We found eight bright point sources in the field, including the ROSAT source 1RXS J225203.8+574249 near the centre of the radio shell. Spectroscopic analysis of some of the embedded point sources, including the ROSAT source, has been performed, and all eight sources are most likely ruled out as the associated neutron star, primarily due to counterpart bright stars in optical and infrared bands. Timing analysis of the bright point sources yielded no significant evidence for pulsations, but, due to the timing resolution, only a small part of the frequency space could be searched. An additional ten fainter point sources were identified in the vicinity of the SNR. Further X-ray observation of these and the region in the vicinity of the radio shell may be warranted.
The autonomous control system of PoGOLite is presented. PoGOLite is a balloon borne X-ray polarimeter designed to observe point sources. To obtain scientific data with optimal efficiency, independent of the ground connection, the payload control syst
em has been made autonomous in most functions. The overall system architecture and the interconnections between components, as well as the automation philosophy and software, are described. Results of performance tests are given.
