ISRO launches X-ray Polarimeter Satellite XPoSat into orbit

Tirupati: The Indian space agency ISRO got off to a good start on the first day of the New Year. ISRO successfully launched X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPOSAT) into orbit on Monday. The PSLV C58 rocket blasted off with Exposat from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Tirupati district at 9.10 am. XPOSAT entered the designated orbit 21 minutes after launch.

Along with the XPOSAT, there are various instruments including the Women Engineered Satellite made by the students of Thiruvananthapuram's LBS Institute of Technology for Women College.

In the final phase of the experiment, PSLV launched the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module with ten more instruments.

XPOSAT, designed with a life span of five years, is primarily aimed at studying black holes, ISRO said. EXPOSAT will study the radiation near black holes and neutron stars through X-ray photons and their polarization. ISRO sources said that India is the first country to conduct such an experiment after America.