New Delhi: ISRO is all set to welcome the new year with the launch of its first X-ray polarimeter satellite, which will provide information on celestial objects like black holes, on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket on Monday.
The launch follows the success of the Gaganyaan test vehicle D1 mission in October. The PSLV-C58 rocket, in its 60th mission, will deploy the primary payload XPoSat and 10 other satellites into low Earth orbits.
A 25-hour countdown began on Sunday for liftoff at 9.10 am on January 1 from the first launch pad of this spaceport, located about 135 km east of Chennai.
“The countdown for PSLV-C58 started at 8.10 am today,” ISRO sources said.
The X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) aims to investigate the polarization of intense X-ray sources in space.
According to ISRO, it is ISRO’s first dedicated scientific satellite to conduct research in space-based polarization measurements of X-ray emissions from celestial sources.
Apart from ISRO, the US-based National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA) conducted a similar study – the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission – in December 2021 on the remnants of supernova explosions, particle streams emitted by black holes and other cosmic phenomena.
The space agency said while India has established space-based X-ray astronomy focusing on imaging and time domain studies, Monday’s mission marks a major value-add for the scientific fraternity.
The objective of the PSLV-C58 mission includes measuring the polarization of
X-ray polarization serves as an important diagnostic tool for investigating the radiation mechanisms and geometry of celestial sources. The primary payload of XPoSat is POLIX (Polarimetry Instrument in X-rays) designed to measure polarimetry parameters by The life of the mission is approximately 5 years.
ISRO said that space-based study of X-ray polarization is gaining immense importance internationally and in this context, the XPoSat mission will play an important role.
XPoSat is expected to bring substantial benefits to the astronomy community globally. In addition to their potential for timing and spectroscopy-based observations, the insights gained from X-ray polarization measurements on celestial objects such as black holes, neutron stars, and active galactic nuclei have the potential to significantly improve the understanding of their physics.
The mission is set to play an important role in building expertise in X-ray polarimetry in India, providing the basis for future progress and fostering a collaborative network within the astronomy community.
The 44.4 meter tall PSLV rocket will first deploy the primary satellite into a low Earth orbit of 650 km about 21 minutes after liftoff and later scientists will restart the fourth stage to bring the satellite to a lower altitude of about 350 km. Vehicle to conduct the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) experiment.
It may be recalled that the space agency had conducted a similar scientific experiment using POEM-2 in the PSLV-C55 mission in April 2023. The rocket that will fly is the PSLV-DL variant with a lift-off mass of 260 tonnes. The fourth stage is configured as a 3-axis stabilized orbital platform to conduct experiments.
The payloads are Radiation Shielding Experiment Module by Techme2Space, Women Engineer Satellite by LBS Institute of Technology for Women, Beliefsat (an amateur radio satellite) built by KJ Somaiya Institute of Technology, Green Impulse transmitter by Inspatiity Space Labs Pvt Ltd, LATTD – Launching Pole. Mission for Aspiring Technologies Technology Demonstrator by Space Pvt Ltd, Rudra 0.3HPGP and ARKA 200 developed by Bellatrix Aerospace Pvt Ltd, Dust Experiment (DEX) and Fuel Cell Power System manufactured by PRL, ISRO and Si based High Energy Cell manufactured by Vikram Sarabhai space Center.
