XPOSAT SATELLITE Syllabus GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation, following a landmark 2023, will ring in the new year with the launch of the PSLV-C58 X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) mission on January 1, 2024.

XPoSAT Satellite

• About: ISRO's First Dedicated Scientific Satellite for X-ray Emission Research.
• XPoSAT's Orbit Configuration: ISRO's PSLV-C58 Mission is set to launch the XPoSAT Satellite into an Eastward low inclination orbit.
• 3-Axis Stabilized Mode: Following XPoSAT's injection, the PS4 stage will be re-started twice to reduce the orbit to a 350 km circular orbit, maintaining a 3-axis stabilized mode for Orbital Platform experiments.
• Purpose: XPoSAT marks ISRO's debut dedicated scientific satellite for researching space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources.
• Payloads: It carries two crucial payloads, namely POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays)
• Developed by: Raman Research Institute and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) by the Space Astronomy Group of URSC, Bengaluru.
• Broad Payload Spectrum: In addition to XPoSAT's scientific payloads, PSLV-C58 will launch 10 diverse payloads developed by start-ups, educational institutions, and various ISRO centers.