*ISRO to Launch X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) Alongside 10 Scientific Payloads on New Year’s Day* In a grand New Year’s celebration, India is set to launch the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) along with 10 other scientific payloads on Monday morning. The 25-hour countdown for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-DL (PSLV-DL) carrying XPoSat and additional payloads began smoothly on Sunday at 8:10 a.m., according to officials from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The PSLV-DL variant, coded PSLV-C58, will take off at 9:10 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh. Approximately 21 minutes into the flight, XPoSat will be orbiting at an altitude of about 650 km. The fourth stage of the rocket will undergo two restarts to reduce the orbit to a 350 km circular orbit for the PSLV Orbital Platform experiments.
The XPoSat mission marks a significant step for ISRO, being the first dedicated scientific satellite for space-based polarization measurements of X-ray emissions from celestial sources. The satellite carries two payloads: POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing), contributing to three main objectives.
The 10 additional payloads, part of the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) experiment, are supplied by ISRO and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). The launch highlights India’s commitment to advancing space research and experimentation, embracing novel ideas and collaborations with both governmental and private entities in the field.
