Why is it in the news?
- ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C58) successfully launched XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) and 10 other payloads from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
- With XPoSat’s launch, India becomes the second country after the United States to send an observatory dedicated to studying astronomical sources like black holes and neutron stars.
XPoSat Mission
- XPoSat is the first dedicated scientific satellite from ISRO, specifically designed to investigate the polarization of intense X-ray sources in space.
- Polarization, a characteristic of waves, including electromagnetic waves like X-rays, describes the orientation of wave oscillations. In X-rays, polarization provides valuable information about source properties and the environment through which the X-rays travel.
- XPoSat operates in a Low Earth Orbit at an altitude of approximately 650 km, with a low inclination of around 6 degrees.
- The Payloads are:
1) POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays): Instrument for measuring polarization in X-rays.
2) XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing): Instrument for X-ray spectroscopy and timing studies.
- The satellite is expected to be operational for approximately 5 years.
| PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) Experiment
· PSLV features an experimental module known as POEM-3 (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3). · POEM allows in-orbit scientific experiments using the spent final stage (PS4) of PSLV as a stabilized platform to perform experiments. · The XPoSat mission marks the third time ISRO has utilized the POEM platform to demonstrate space technologies. |
