Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists on the successful launch of maiden X-Ray satellite ‘XPoSat’ to study black holes and neutron stars on Monday, the first day of the New Year 2024.
Hailing the launch as India's prowess in the space sector, Modi said, "A great start to 2024 thanks to our scientists! This launch is wonderful news for the space sector and will enhance India's prowess in this field. Best wishes to our scientists at @isro and the entire space fraternity in taking India to unprecedented heights.”
Union home minister Amit Shah also commended the ISRO scientists saying that their might is India's pride.
{{/usCountry}}Union home minister Amit Shah also commended the ISRO scientists saying that their might is India's pride.
{{/usCountry}}“Brightening up the cosmos in pursuit of knowledge on the very first day of 2024 you have proven yet again that your might is our pride. Congratulations to our @isro scientists on the historic launch of specialized astronomy observatory satellite XPoSat to study black holes and neutron stars in our galaxy,” he said in a post on X.
The space agency in its first space mission of 2024, launched the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) which lifted-off at 9:10 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
ISR chief S Somanath while applauding the successful launch said, “ The New Year has begun with the launch of the PSLV, and we will have an exciting time ahead. On January 1, 2024, another successful mission of PSLV has been accomplished. PSLV-C58 has placed the primary satellite - XPoSat - in the intended orbit of 650 km with 6-degree inclination.”
He also said Raman Research Institute made the primary payload of the satellite, and the second payload was made by the Astronomy Group of URSC (U R Rao Satellite Centre).
The PSLV-C58 rocket, in its 60th mission, successfully deployed payload XPoSat into Low Earth Orbit, said the ISRO. It is the first dedicated scientific satellite from the ISRO to carry out research in space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources.
The objective of the PSLV-C58 mission includes measuring polarisation of X-rays in the energy band 8-30 keV emanating from about 50 potential cosmic sources, to carry out long-term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources.
The X-Ray polarisation serves as a crucial diagnostic tool for examining the radiation mechanism and geometry of celestial sources.