ISRO rings in New Year with the successful launch of PSLV-C58 carrying XPoSat and 10 payloads.
- ISRO celebrated the New Year with the successful launch of PSLV-C58.
- The rocket carried XPoSat, India’s first dedicated scientific satellite for X-ray polarization measurements, and 10 additional payloads.
- XPoSat’s mission is to study X-ray emissions, especially from celestial objects like black holes.
- The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9:10 am.
- XPoSat was placed into a 650km low inclination orbit approximately 22 minutes after liftoff.
- The PS4 stage underwent two restarts to adjust the orbit to a stable 350km circular orbit for platform experiments.
- The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) experiment was successfully executed.
- This launch marked the PSLV’s 60th flight and the fourth flight of PSLV with the DL variant.
- ISRO Chairman S Somanath highlighted that 2024 would be a busy year with Gaganyaan, test flights, and various other launches.
- XPoSat aims to study bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
- The mission will provide insights into celestial objects such as black holes.
- The PSLV-C58 also carried payloads from four Indian space startups for various experiments.
- The countdown for the launch began 25 hours before liftoff.
- The primary payload, POLIX, will measure polarimetry parameters in the medium X-ray energy range.
- The XSPECT payload will provide spectroscopic information in the energy range of 0.8-15 keV.
