Context: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is scheduled to launch the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C55 (PSLV-C55) mission on April 22 with Singapore’s TeLEOS-2 as the primary satellite and Lumelite-4 as a co-passenger satellite.
- PSLV-C55 mission has the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), where the spent PS4 (fourth and final stage of the PSLV launch vehicle) would be utilised as an orbital platform to carry out scientific experiments through non-separating payloads.
PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM)
- 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).
- The 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 — ends up as space junk. However, in the PSLV-C55 mission, the spent final stage will be utilised as a “stabilised platform” to perform experiments.
- POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system for attitude stabilisation, which stands for controlling the orientation of any aerospace vehicle within permitted limits. The NGC will act as the platform’s brain to stabilize it 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”.