Context: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) PSLV-C60 mission is scheduled to be launched on December 30, 2024.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX); PSLV Orbital Experimental Module
Major Highlights:
- The mission will demonstrate the complex art of satellite docking in space with the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX).
- The PSLV rocket will carry two satellites named Chaser (SDX01) and Target (SDX02). Each weighs 220 kg.
- After launch and orbit insertion, the two satellites will attempt to dock at an altitude of 470 kilometers above the Earth.
- The mission will also leverage the PSLV's fourth stage (POEM-4) to host 24 scientific experiments, designed by various ISRO centres, academic institutions, and Indian private companies.
Read More: SpaDeX: Space Docking Experiment
Why does SpaDeX matter for India?
- The mission is a strategic step towards several ambitious space objectives, including:
- Preparing for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program
- Enabling Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return missions
- Developing the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), India's proposed space station.
PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM)
- Developed by: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
- POEM is an experimental mission or space platform to perform in-orbit experiments using the final (otherwise discarded) stage of ISRO’s PSLV.
- PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) — after launching the satellite into orbit — often ends up as space junk.
- In POEM, the spent final stage will be utilised as a stabilised platform to perform experiments.
- POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system to act as the platform’s brain for attitude stabilisation with specified accuracy.
- POEM will derive its power from solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, and a Li-Ion battery. It will navigate using four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros & NavIC.
POEM-4’s Payloads:
- POEM-4 carries 24 payloads: 14 contributed by various ISRO centres and 10 by academia and private industry. POEM-4 will begin operations after satellite separation.
Some important payloads include:
- Relocatable Robotic Manipulator-Technology Demonstrator, a.k.a. ‘Walking Robotic Arm,’ developed by ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), is expected to demonstrate a robotic arm that can move to defined targets on the POEM using an inchworm walking technique.
- Debris Capture Robotic Manipulator to capture tethered space debris with a robotic manipulator.
- Compact Research module for Orbital Plant Studies to study the germination and growth of eight cowpea seeds in a five- to seven-day experiment in a controlled environment.
- Amity Plant Experimental Module in Space (APEMS) payload. It will compare growth-related changes in plant callus cells using spinach plants in microgravity and earth gravity.
- RVSat-1 payload. It will measure the growth of the gut bacterium (Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron) in space. The experiment is expected to provide data to understand human physiology in space and astronaut health during crewed missions.
- BGS Amateur Radio Payload for Information Transmission (ARPIT). It can transmit audio, text, and images from a satellite to the ground with frequency modulation in the VHF band. It is designed to provide amateur radio satellite services worldwide.
- RUDRA 1.0 HPGP will test a green propulsion system with a thrust of 1 newton and a specific impulse of 220 seconds.
- VYOM 2U developed by Manastu Space will test a monopropellant as a safer and better performing alternative to hydrazine (the most widely used propellant in the Indian space programme at present). VYOM has a thrust of 1.1 N and a specific impulse greater than 250 seconds.