India deploys first X-ray satellite, 882-pound tech to decode black holes

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) began the new year with a bang, launching its first X-ray space observatory known as the Polarimeter Satellite (XpoSat). 

This mission lifted out from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday, January 1, atop India’s powerful launch vehicle, PSLV-C58.

The rocket smoothly deployed the satellite into a low-Earth orbit, where it is set to study luminous cosmic X-ray sources, including black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, and magnetars.

This launch marked the 60th flight for PSLV-C58, an illustrious…