Country's First Polarimetry Mission: XPoSat Launched From PSLV C58

The country's first polarimetry mission, XPoSat, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on January 1, 2024 at 9:10 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota.

• It has been launched from Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C58.
• In this mission, along with ExoSat, 10 other satellites have also been launched from PSLV-C58 to place them in low Earth orbit.
• Just 21 minutes after launch, the satellite has been successfully established in its designated orbit 650 km above the Earth.

• XPoSat is also India's first and the world's second polarimetry mission, after NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), launched in 2021.

About X-ray Polarimetry Satellite (XPoSat):

• XPoSat stands for X-ray Polarimeter Satellite.
• EXPOSAT is developed in collaboration with ISRO and Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, Karnataka.  
• According to ISRO, "XPoSat will study the various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources under extreme conditions".
• XPoSat aims to study the 50 brightest sources in the universe.
• These include pulsars, black hole X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, neutron stars and the remnants of non-thermal supernovae.
• The satellite is expected to have a life of approximately five years.

The spacecraft will carry two scientific payloads into low Earth orbit:

• POLIX (X-ray Polarimeter Instrument): POLIX will measure polarisation parameters such as polarimetric parameters (degree and angle of polarisation) in the medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV photons originating from astronomical sources.
• XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) payload: It will provide spectroscopic information in the energy range of 0.8-15 keV.
• The XSPECT payload is developed by UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC), ISRO.

About the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE):

• It was launched on 9 December 2021 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• The IXPE observatory is a joint initiative of NASA and the Italian Space Agency.
• It was launched into orbit aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
• It studies "distant and mysterious objects in the universe—supernova remnants, supermassive black holes, and dozens of other high-energy objects.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO):

• ISRO is a space agency under the Department of Space of the Government of India.
• Established – 15 August 1969
• ISRO was earlier known as the Indian National Space Research Organization, which was founded by Dr. Vikram A. It was established by the Government of India in 1962 on the vision of Sarabhai.
• Chairman – S Somnath
• Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka