ISRO successfully launches XPoSat to study X-ray emission from celestial sources

THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK

New Delhi, Jan 1: The first-ever X-Ray Polarimeter satellite, which is expected to shed light on astronomical objects like black holes, was successfully launched by ISRO on Monday.

The principal X-Ray Polarimeter satellite, XPoSat, was accurately positioned into a 650 km Low Earth Orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) during its C58 mission. Launching from the first launch pad, the event occurred at the scheduled time of 9:10 am.

X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) will study X-ray emission from various celestial sources.

PSLV-C58 places satellite perfectly: ISRO chief

Speaking to the scientists following the mission’s successful launch, S Somanath, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), stated that the satellite was perfectly placed into the target orbit of 650 kilometres with a 6-degree inclination by the PSLV-C58 vehicle.

“From this point, the orbit of the PSLV will be reduced to a lower orbit, where the upper stage of the PSLV which is now described as POEM will carry out experiments with nine of the onboard payloads and that will take some time,” Somanath, the ISRO Chief added.

He stated that the orbit is “excellent” and that, in a circular orbit of 650 km, the distance from the targeted orbit is only 3 km. The inclination is 0.01 degrees, which is among the ideal circumstances.

He also informed that the satellite’s solar panel had been successfully deployed after launch.

Mission’s objective

The mission’s goal is to use the POLIX payload to measure the polarisation of X-rays in the 8–30 keV energy band that are coming from roughly 50 possible cosmic sources. The mission will use the XSPECT payload to conduct long-term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources in the energy range of 0.8–15 keV. In addition, it will use the POLIX and XSPECT payloads, respectively, to perform polarisation and spectroscopic observations of X-ray emissions from cosmic sources in the common energy band.

Understanding the emission mechanism of pulsar wind nebulae, black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, and other astronomical objects can be difficult due to their complex physical processes. Deeper problems remain for astronomers regarding the precise nature of the emission from such sources.

The measurements of polarimetry provide two additional dimensions to our understanding: the degree and angle of polarisation. As such, they serve as a diagnostic tool for comprehending the emission processes originating from astronomical sources.