By Rupanjal Chauhan: ISRO begins the new year with the launch of XPoSat (X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite) from the first launch-pad Satish Dhawan Space Station, Sriharikota at 9:10 A.M. IST on 1st January, Monday.
XPoSat is India’s maiden dedicated polarimetry mission which aims to investigate various dynamics of bright astronomical x-ray sources in challenging conditions. It is designated for observation from low-earth orbit and carries two scientific payloads named POLIX (Polimeter Instrument in X-Rays) and XSPECT (X-Ray Spectroscopy and timing)
This will be the World’s second black-hole monitoring satellite, after NASA’s IXPE mission to study black holes and neutron stars in our galaxy.
This is the next epochal step towards space exploration and observation by the country, after the Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L-1 missions.