XPoSat Launches with POEM: 10 Payloads Innovate in Orbital Space"

Girish Linganna , Vartha Bharati | 29-12-2023 | 20:36:00 IST

India's space endeavors in 2024 are set to commence with a launch on the first day of the year. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is currently in the final stages of pre-launch activities, preparing to deploy the X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Following the deployment of the main satellite, the PSLV's last stage will carry an additional 10 payloads.

In addition to XPoSAT, the primary satellite, the PSLV mission will transport an additional 10 payloads or instruments into space using its final stage, known as the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, or POEM.

Space Startups Launch Cutting-Edge Technologies

The five instruments included on the POEM platform, as detailed by ISRO, are:

- Radiation Shielding Experimental Module (RSEM): Designed to assess the effectiveness of Tantalum coating, developed by TakeMe2Space, Hyderabad.

- Women Engineered Satellite (WESAT): Aims to measure Solar Irradiance and UV Index, crafted by LBS Institute of Technology for Women.

- BeliefSat-0: An amateur radio satellite created by KJ Somaiya Institute of Technology.

- Green Impulse Transmitter (GITA): A green bipropellant CubeSat propulsion unit from Inspecity Space Labs Private Limited.

- Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Technologies - Technology Demonstrator (LEAP-TD): For demonstrating microsatellite subsystems, by Dhruva Space.

Other 5 includes

- RUDRA 0.3 HPGP and ARKA-200: Two instruments from Bengaluru's Bellatrix Aerospace; RUDRA 0.3 HPGP is a green monopropellant thruster, and ARKA-200 is a heater-less hollow cathode for Hall thrusters.

- Fuel Cell Power System (FCPS) and Silicon-based High Energy Cell: Two payloads developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC); FCPS for fuel cell demonstration and a Silicon-based high energy cell.

- Dust Experiment (DEX); A payload from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) designed to measure the interplanetary dust count.

"PSLV's POEM: Pioneering Orbital Space Experiments"

The POEM (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module) is an innovative platform utilized for performing experiments in space, making use of the final stage of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a rocket with four stages. The initial three stages drop into the ocean after use, while the final stage (PS4), typically left as space debris, is repurposed in POEM for conducting orbital experiments after delivering the satellite to its orbit.

During the PSLV-C53 mission, the final stage, after being expended, will serve as a "stabilized platform" for various experiments. This mission marks the first instance where the PS4 stage, through the POEM platform, will orbit the Earth as a stabilized platform for conducting experiments.

The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) is equipped with a specialized Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system to maintain stable orientation in space. It is powered by solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, supplemented by a lithium-ion battery. For navigation, POEM utilizes an array of four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyroscopes, and the NavIC system.

"PS4 Fuel Tank: POEM's Core"

The term "PS4 tank" refers to the fuel tank of the fourth stage (PS4) of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). In a multi-stage rocket like the PSLV, each stage has its own engines and fuel tanks. The PS4 is the uppermost stage of the PSLV, responsible for placing the satellite into its final orbit. The fuel tank in this stage, known as the PS4 tank, holds the propellant needed for this final push. In the context of the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), solar panels are installed around this tank, utilizing the structure of the PS4 stage even after its primary function of satellite deployment is completed.

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Prez nod for FIR against AAP's Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain in Rs 2,000-cr classroom 'scam'

14-03-2025 ¦ 14-03-2025 IST

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain | PC: PTI

New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said.

In 2022, the Delhi government's vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary.

The President has given her approval for registering the FIR against Sisodia and Jain in connection with the alleged scam during their tenures as ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, the sources said.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted "glaring irregularities" in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools by the Public Works Department (PWD).

The President's approval came under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act that pertains to "enquiry or inquiry or investigation of offences relatable to recommendations made or decision taken by public servant in discharge of official functions or duties".

Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of carrying out a witch-hunt against its political rivals.

The BJP has no interest or intention to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Its only agenda is to carry out a witch-hunt against its political rivals to stifle the voice of people, the former minister said in a statement.

The BJP-led central government has already decided to prosecute every political adversary of the party and grant approvals to move the case forward but it should wait for the judicial process to begin, he said.

In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and then AAP rebel MLA Kapil Mishra, now a minister in the Delhi government, lodged a police complaint about the alleged scam.

According to a report prepared by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi government, the complainants alleged that there was a scam worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms and school buildings in Delhi. The work was done at a highly inflated cost by the Delhi government.

The alleged scam involves the construction of around 12,748 classrooms.

The ACB report said the total expenditure incurred for constructing the classrooms and school buildings was around Rs 2,892.65 crore. They were allegedly constructed at the rate of Rs 8,800 per square feet, whereas it was common knowledge that the average construction cost (even for a builder of flats) was around Rs 1,500 per square feet.

The total cost for constructing a classroom and school building, according to the tender awarded, was allegedly around Rs 24.86 lakh per room, whereas such rooms are easily constructed in Delhi at around Rs 5 lakh per room, it said.

The prices were increased almost five times to defraud the taxpayer by siphoning off money from the public exchequer in the garb of construction cost, the report said.

Even for a 5-star hotel, top ultra-luxury quality construction is around Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,500 per square feet, it said.

The complainants submitted a copy of documents in which information received under the RTI Act in respect of the construction of 18 classrooms in the Govt Girls Senior Secondary School, Nathupura, Burari (school ID:-1207111) revealed that they were constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore, the ACB report said.