BENGALURU: The ISRO does it again! The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) onboard the PSLV-C58 –XPoSat mission met its fiery end through a re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, leaving zero orbital debris in space.
This milestone was achieved on March 21 when POEM-3 was passivated to remove residual propellants to minimize any accidental break-up risks. The PSLV-C58 Mission was accomplished on January 1. “After completing the primary mission of injecting all satellites into their desired orbits, the terminal stage of PSLV was transformed into a 3-axis stabilized platform, the POEM-3. The stage was de-orbited from 650 km to 350 km, which facilitated its early re-entry,” said ISRO.
The orbital altitude of the upper stage continued to decay under the influence of natural forces, and was reported to have impacted the North Pacific Ocean (Lat 6.4 N & Long 158.7 W) around 7:34 pm on March 21. The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has taken the lead in conceptualizing the POEM by augmenting the 4th stage of PSLV.
XPoSat is the third such mission in the series, with POEMs being successfully scripted each time. The space agency on Monday said, “POEM-3 was configured with a total of 9 different experimental payloads to carry out technology demonstrations and scientific experiments on the newly developed indigenous systems. Out of these, 6 payloads were delivered by NGEs through IN-SPACE. The mission objectives of these payloads were met in a month.”