9.04.2024

With the increase in satellite launches, a new crisis has arisen for spacefaring nations: space debris. ISRO’s recent mission tackled this, leaving ‘zero orbital debris.’ Here’s a look at how and why this is significant.

File photo: This file computer-generated image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on April 15, 2008 shows trackable objects in orbit around Earth. (Photo by ESA/AFP) | Photo Credit

The story so far: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said its PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission has practically left zero debris in earth’s orbit. The space agency explained that the last stage of the Polar Satellite Launch vehicle (PSLV) used in the mission was transformed into a kind of orbital station — called the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) — before it was left to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere instead of floating in orbit once its mission was completed.

ISRO said that after it completed the primary mission of injecting all satellites into their target orbits, the fourth stage of the PSLV was transformed into the POEM-3. It was subsequently de-orbited from 650 kilometres to 350 kilometres, rendering it more susceptible to being pulled towards the earth and burning up in the atmosphere. ISRO also said it “passivated the stage,” meaning dumped its fuel, to avoid an explosion that could have flung small pieces of debris into orbit.