ISRO to ring in 2024 with satellite to study black holes

New Delhi, December 31

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will usher in the New Year with a foray into a new area of measuring cosmic X-rays. The 25-hour countdown commenced on Sunday morning for the lift-off scheduled from Sriharikota at 9.10 am on January 1.

Five-year mission

• PSLV-C58 rocket will carry X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) and 10 others to be deployed in low-earth orbits
• XPoSat will investigate polarisation of X-ray from celestial sources, including black holes; mission life is 5 years

The X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) will piggyback on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C58) rocket along with 10 other satellites for deployment in low-earth orbits.

Cosmic X rays are widely prevalent in the atmosphere and two-thirds of it come from celestial objects such as clusters of galaxies, black holes and remnants of exploding stars (supernova remnants).

The XPoSat, with a mission life of five years, will be among the very few satellites that will investigate and measure the polarisation of intense X-ray sources in space. This will enable scientists reach the source of celestial sources emitting these rays. The launch of the XPoSat will be the second ISRO venture in a new area. In October, it had successfully launched the Gaganyaan Test Vehicle D1 mission. Talks are currently on with the United States, Russia and France for assistance in human flights in space.

The XpoSat will carry two payloads, both provided by indigenous institutions. The primary payload is POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-Rays), which is designed to measure polarimetry parameters by Raman Research Institute, while secondary is XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing), built by the UR Rao Satellite Centre. Both institutes are based in Bengaluru.