XPoSat Launched
Source: News On Air
GS III: Science and Technology
Overview
- News in Brief
- About XPoSat
Why in the News?
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) aboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C58.
News in Brief
- The satellite was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 9.10 today morning.
- Ten other scientific payloads were also launched along with XPoSat.
- This mission marks India’s first dedicated scientific endeavour to study the polarisation of cosmic X-rays from celestial sources.
- Following the launch of XPoSat, India has become the second country in the world after the United States to send a specialised astronomy observatory to study black holes and neutron stars in our galaxy.
The 10 other payloads are from TakeMe2Space, LBS Institute Technology for Women, K J Somaiya Institute of Technology, Inspecity Space Labs Private Ltd, Dhruva Space Private Ltd, Bellatrix Aerospace Private Ltd (two payloads) and three payloads from the ISRO.
About XPoSat
- The mission life of the primary payload XPoSat is about five years. ISRO Chief S Somanath said, XPoSat has been successfully ed into a 650 km Low Earth Orbit as intended.
- Payload XPoSAT, short for Xray Polarimeter Satellite.
- It is the country’s first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
- Polarimetry is nothing but a method to study how light waves move.
XPoSat payloads
POLIX
- POLIX is an X-ray Polarimeter for astronomical observations in the energy band of 8-30 keV.
- The instrument is made of a collimator, a scatterer and four X-ray proportional counter detectors that surround the scatterer.
XSPECT
- XSPECT is an X-ray SPECtroscopy and Timing payload onboard XPoSat.
- It can provide fast timing and good spectroscopic resolution in soft X-rays.
- XSPECT can provide long-term monitoring of spectral state changes in continuum emission.
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