‘POEM’ Platform

‘POEM’ Platform

News: ISRO successfully launched the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module or ‘POEM’.

About:
• The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module is a platform that will help perform in-orbit experiments using the final, and otherwise discarded, stage of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• POEM is carrying six payloads, including two from Indian space start-ups Digantara (for making the map of space radiations, debris, and orbits) and Dhruva Space (for full-stack satellite development, launch, deployment, operation and maintenance services).
• The inclusion of the two laid the ground for more public-private partnerships, to be facilitated by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe).

What is PSLV?
• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is a four stage rocket where the first three stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) after launching the satellite into orbit ends up as a stage junk.
• The PSLV rocket platform is India’s workhorse, with an ability to send relatively lighter satellites to polar orbits. These spacecrafts are on a north-south orbit around the planet, as opposed to a genosynchronous orbit for which Isro uses the heavier GSLV rocket.

PSLV-C53

About:
• The four-stage, 44.4m tall PSLV-C53 rocket that blasted off from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, placed the three Singaporean satellites – DS-EO, NeuSAR and SCOOB-1 – in an intended orbit of 570km.
• It is designed to orbit the DS-EO satellite along with two other co-passenger satellites from Singapore.
• The mission proposes to demonstrate the utilisation of the spent upper stage of the launch vehicle as a stabilised platform for scientific payloads subsequent to the separation of the satellites.