The national space agency of India is called the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO /ˈɪsroʊ/)[a]. It serves as the main branch of the Department of Space (DoS), which is directly under the direct supervision of the Indian Prime Minister and is run by the Chairman of ISRO. Tasks pertaining to space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation, and the advancement of related technologies fall under the purview of ISRO. Among the six government space agencies globally, ISRO is equipped with cryogenic engines, can launch extraterrestrial missions, and manages a sizable fleet of man-made satellites. Among the four government space agencies with the ability to perform soft landings without a crew, ISRO is one.
Before Jawaharlal Nehru established ISRO, it was known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), in recognition of the necessity for space research that Dr. Vikram Sarabhai suggested in 1962. As INCOSPAR expanded within the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), it became ISRO in 1969. The Indian government established the Space Commission and the DoS in 1972, subsuming ISRO under its purview. Thus, the founding of ISRO institutionalized Indian space research efforts.Since then, it has been run by DoS, which also oversees a number of other Indian institutions that work in the fields of astronomy and space technology.
Aryabhata, the first satellite built by ISRO for India, was launched in 1975 by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos.With the 1980 launch of satellite RS-1 by ISRO aboard SLV-3, India became the seventh nation to be able to launch a satellite into orbit. Following SLV-3, ASLV was developed, and with the help of numerous medium-lift launchers, rocket engines, satellite systems, and networks, the agency was able to launch numerous deep space missions for space exploration as well as hundreds of foreign and domestic satellites.
The GAGAN and IRNSS (NavIC) satellite navigation systems are run by ISRO, which also possesses the largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites in the world. It has launched one mission to Mars and three to the Moon.
ISRO's PSLV-C58
The socioeconomic development of India has been greatly aided by ISRO's programs, which have supported the military and civilian sectors in a number of areas, including telemedicine, disaster management, navigation, and reconnaissance missions. Numerous significant breakthroughs for India's engineering and medical sectors have also been made possible by ISRO spin-off technologies.
On January 1, 2024, at 09:10 IST, ISRO's PSLV-C58 launched the XPOSAT satellite into an eastward low inclination orbit. Following the injection of XPOSAT, the PS4 stage will undergo two restarts in order to reduce the orbit to a 350 km circular orbit, which will allow the Orbital Platform (OP) experiments to continue in the 3-axis stabilized mode. With the help of ISRO and IN-SPACe, the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) experiment will be carried out with the goal of delivering ten identified payloads.
XPoSat
The first specifically designed scientific satellite from ISRO to conduct research in space-based polarization measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources is called XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite). Changes are made to the Satellite configuration using the IMS-2 bus platform. The IRS satellite legacy is the basis for the mainframe systems' configuration. POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) are its two payloads. Raman Research Institute is responsible for POLIX, while Space Astronomy Group of URSC is in charge of XSPECT.
The objectives of this mission are:
To measure polarisation of X-rays in the energy band 8-30keV emanating from about 50 potential cosmic sources through Thomson Scattering by POLIX payload.
To carry out long term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources in the energy band 0.8-15keV by XSPECT payload.
To carry out polarisation and spectroscopic measurements of X-ray emissions from cosmic sources by POLIX and XSPECT payloads respectively in the common energy band.
Scientific Goals of the Mission
To study the distribution of magnetic field, geometric anisotropies, alignment w.r.t line of sight,
nature of accelerator in galactic cosmic X-Ray sources by measuring degree of polarization and its angle.
Structure and geometry of magnetic field of neutron stars, mechanism of X-Ray beaming and
its relation with luminosity and mass of accretion rate of powered pulsars.
Detailed understanding of galactic black hole binary sources.
To study and confirm about production of X-Rays is either from polar cap of neutron star or outer cap of pulsar magnetosphere.
To distinguish the synchrotron mechanism as dominant over thermal emission in Supernova remnants.
XSPECT POLIX P
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