The commencement of the new year witnessed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieving a milestone with the successful launch of the PSLV-C58 X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, known as XPoSat, on January 1, 2024.
Taking flight at 9:10 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the PSLV-C58 rocket, on its 60th mission, placed XPoSat into an eastward low-inclination orbit. This 260-tonne rocket serves as a carrier for an advanced astronomy observatory designed for the study of black holes and neutron stars.
India, with this achievement, is poised to become the second country after the United States of America (USA) to possess an ‘observatory’ dedicated to the investigation of black holes. ISRO highlights XPoSat as its inaugural scientific satellite explicitly designated for researching space-based polarization measurements of X-ray emissions from celestial sources.
The mission is characterized by its uniqueness, as X-ray Polarimetry represents a distinctive scientific capability developed internally by building instruments. ISRO aims to foster a cadre of 100 scientists proficient in this domain, contributing to global knowledge on black holes.
XPoSat incorporates two payloads: POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing), further enhancing its scientific capabilities.