New Delhi: In a historic move, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch a space mission on January 1, deploying the PSLV-DL variant rocket carrying the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) and 10 additional payloads. Previously, ISRO conducted space missions in January using its PSLV and GSLV rockets, but never on the inaugural day of the calendar year.


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At 9.10 a.m. the Indian rocket PSLV-DL variant with the code PSLV-C58, standing 44.4-metre tall and weighing 260 ton, will blast off from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh XPoSat weighing about 740 kg and 10 scientific payloads fixed to the PSLV Orbital Platform.



At about 21 minutes into its flight, the rocket will orbit XPoSat at an altitude of about 650 km. In its normal configuration, the PSLV is a four-stage/engine expendable rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels, alternatively, with six booster motors strapped onto the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments.


The ISRO has five types of PSLV rockets -- Standard, Core Alone, XL, DL, and QL. The major difference between them is the number of strap-on boosters used which, in turn, largely depends on the weight of the satellites to be orbited.


The PSLV uses 6,4,2 solid rocket strap-on motors to augment the thrust provided by the first stage in PSLV-XL, QL & DL variants, respectively. However, strap-ons are not used in the core-alone version (PSLV-CA).