'2024 Lifted Off Majestically': Netizens Beam With Joy As ISRO Successfully Launches XPoSat

In a remarkable start to New Year 2024 , the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday successfully launched its maiden X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite that would offer several insights into celestial objects like black holes.

ISRO's ever reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in its C58 mission, placed the primary X-Ray Polarimeter satellite XPoSat into a 650 Km Low Earth Orbit as intended after lifting off at the pre-fixed time of 9.10 am from the first launch pad in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.

XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) is India’s first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions. 

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh lauded the Indian space agency and expressed pride in being associated with the Department of Space "at a time when Team ISRO continues to accomplish one success after the other."

Netizens joined in, congratulating ISRO and its scientists for the monumental achievement. One user highlighted the succession of milestones achieved by ISRO, mentioning the previous successes with Chandrayaan 3 and the Aditya-L1 Mission.

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Another user commended ISRO's ability to achieve such feats within budgetary constraints, emphasising the agency's resourcefulness and dedication.

According to ISRO, it is the first dedicated scientific satellite from the space agency to carry out research in space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources.

Emerging from the Mission Control Centre, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said, "Happy New Year to all of you. So on 1 January 2024, yet another successful mission of PSLV has been accomplished. PSLV-C58 has placed the primary satellite XPoSat in the desired orbit."

"From this point the orbit of PSLV 4th stage will be reduced to a lower orbit where the upper stage of PSLV which is described as POEM will carry out experiments with the onboard payloads and that will take some time," he added.

"Let me also announce the orbit that has been accomplished which is available through various routes, it shows excellent orbit and the deviations from the targeted orbit is hardly just 3km in a circular orbit of 650 km and the inclination is 001 degree which is one of the very excellent orbital condition and yet another announcement is that the solar panel of the satellite has been deployed successfully," Somanath, also the Secretary, Department of Space said.

(With PTI inputs)