According to ISRO, POEM-3 carried nine payloads from space start-ups, academia, the Physical Research Laboratory, and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, which is built on the final stage of the PSLV rocket that sent XPoSat into space on New Year’s Day, is expected to burn up during the next 75 days after fulfilling the goals of every experiment on board. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), this will guarantee that the mission leaves no debris behind.
The organisation also declared on Saturday that the meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS, which was developed at the U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, has been launched to Sriharikota. The mission is scheduled to launch atop GSLV in the middle of February.
Since last year, ISRO has been taking action to reduce space debris, including reducing the orbit of retired satellites and the terminal stages of rockets as well as removing extra fuel.
To shorten the platform’s orbital stay, the orbit of POEM-3 (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3) was actually decreased from 650 km to 350 km following the launch of the space observatory XPoSat. By the 25th day, the space agency reported, the platform had completed 400 orbits. All nine experiments were operationalized during this time, and their performance was assessed. The LBS Institute of Technology for Women developed the Women Engineered Satellite (WESAT) to compare solar irradiance and UV index. Other experiments include an amateur radio, radiation shielding, three space start-up propulsion systems, and an interplanetary dust count experiment conducted by Physical Research Laboratory. Additionally on board were two varieties of fuel cell devices created by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
