XIPE is designed to be launched with a VEGA-C vehicle into an orbit of 550 km and <6° inclination. With this orbit, eclipses last about 35 minutes. Due to remaining spacecraft fragments the mission is planned to end by controlled re-entry. The baseline ground station is Kourou either for S/S or S/X telemetry band, albeit Malindi (or Singapore) is additionally available, if necessary, for additional downloading capability in case of particularly bright sources. The mission duration is 3+2 years. XIPE will perform consecutive slews and long exposure pointings while the observing plan includes also snapshot pointings for monitoring purposes. Target of Opportunities are also foreseen with a reaction time below 12 hours in working days and hours. The data policy foresees that 25% of the time is dedicated to a Core Program while the remaining 75% is dedicated to a competitive Guest Observing program.