9 Insights About XPoSAT: India's Satellite To Study Black Holes Launched Today On New Year's Day
1. India Second Country to have black hole observatory
India will now become the second country (after USA) to have an observatory to study black holes, after their successful launch of XPoSAT or the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite. The satellite launched at 9.10 am today.
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X
2. Another Success for ISRO
This marks another eventful success for ISRO post Indias successful moon mission Chandrayaan. XPoSAT will assist in the study of radiation from nearby black holes and neutron stars by employing X-ray photons and their polarization. POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) are its two payloads being carried.
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Pinterest
3. Thomson Scattering
Using the POLIX payload, the satellite will use Thomson Scattering to determine the polarization of X-rays in the 8–30 keV energy range that are emitted by roughly 50 possible cosmic sources.
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4. POLIX and XSPECT payloads
Long-term spectral and temporal investigations of cosmic X-ray sources will be conducted using it. Using the POLIX and XSPECT payloads, it will also perform spectroscopic and polarization measurements of X-ray emissions from cosmic sources.
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5. About Black holes
Black holes or neutron stars are left behind when stars run out of fuel and die, collapsing under the force of their own gravity.
Neutron stars have the highest density and black holes have the strongest gravitational pull in the universe.
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NASA
6. The Potential of XPoSAT
By acquiring more data on this, the expedition will contribute to the deciphering of the mysteries surrounding the extremely diverse surroundings in space.
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7. Efficient Cost
The NASA IXPE, which has been on a similar mission since 2021, required an expenditure of $188 million, whereas the XPoSat satellite costs a fraction of the price. Its cost comes to approx. ₹ 250 crore (about $30 million).
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8.Promising Lifespan
The Indian satellite is anticipated last more than five years and outlive the NASA IXPE which as a two-year lifespan.
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9. PSLV Launch
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, marks its 60th flight as part of the XPoSAT mission. In addition to the 469-kg XPoSAT, ten experiments will be launched with the 260-ton PSLV.
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