Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) continues to amaze with its rapid progress. On Monday, they managed to launch the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite. It is designed to carry out research in polarized X-ray light. One of the main objects of its study will be black holes.
New Indian satellite
On Monday, January 1, a rocket was launched from the main spaceport of India, located on the island of Sriharikota off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. It put the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite into orbit at a height of 350 km.
According to the statements of the ISRO, the launch was successful, and the satellite will soon start working. It weighs about 450 kg and is designed to explore the universe in polarized X-ray light.
India is not the first country to put such a spacecraft into orbit. In 2021, NASA launched the IXPE space telescope. It is now making one discovery after another. However, there are still many objects to explore in this spectrum. In particular, the new Indian satellite should explore black holes and find out how they rotate.
India’s successes and plans
The launch of the satellite for research in polarized X-ray light was a new success for ISRO. Last year, the country surprised everyone when it first landed its rover on the moon and then sent a solar observatory into space.
The country’s scientists have already proven that even with small budgets, they can successfully carry out world-class automated missions. However, they have something much greater in the near future — the launch of a manned spacecraft.
The spacecraft called Gaganyaan has already passed all the main tests. Already in 2024, it is supposed to carry out first unmanned and then manned flights. If India succeeds, it will become only the fourth country that has been able to launch its citizens into space on its own.
According to phys.org
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