Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) declared a significant milestone in space exploration as it successfully accomplished all payload objectives of the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3).
POEM-3 is India's distinctive and cost-effective space platform utilising the spent PS4 stage of the PSLV-C58 vehicle, launched by ISRO's XPoSat on January 1.
ISRO stated that POEM-3, the innovative space platform, achieved all its payload objectives during the mission. The experiment, focusing on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel cells, marked a crucial step in space technology.
ISRO emphasised that with the anticipated re-entry of POEM-3 in the next 75 days, the PSLV-C58 XPoSat mission is set to leave zero debris in space. The utilization of the spent PS4 stage contributes to this zero debris commitment.
Launched on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the experiment involved deploying the satellite into a 650 km orbit, which was later lowered to a 350 km circular orbit to minimize orbit decay time post-experiment completion.
POEM-3, a three-axis-attitude controlled platform with power generation and telecommand & telemetry capabilities, completed 400 orbits by the 25th day in orbit. The current orbit measures around 322 km by 352 km, and it is predicted to orbit for approximately 73 more days before re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
The primary objective of the POEM-3 experiment was to gather valuable data essential for designing systems for future space missions. ISRO plans more experiments with POEM-3 to generate data for upcoming POEM configurations and other missions.