Aditya-L1, part of Indian Space Research Organisation's maiden solar mission, successfully injected itself into its final orbit on Saturday at around 4:30 pm. The spacecraft performed its final and crucial manoeuvre to reach its destination, Lagrange Point 1 (L-1).
ISRO has been able to achieve this milestone on its first try and at a frugal cost, adding one more feather to its list of achievements.
“Halo-Orbit Insertion (HOI) of its solar observatory spacecraft, Aditya-L1, was accomplished at 16.00 Hrs (approx) on January 6, 2024 (IST). The final phase of the manoeuvre involved the firing of control engines for a short duration,” ISRO said in a statement.
The insertion of Aditya-L1 in the halo orbit presented a critical mission phase, which demanded precise navigation and control. A successful insertion further involved constant monitoring along with the adjustment of the spacecraft’s speed and position by using onboard thrusters.
Can handle interplanetary missions, says ISRO
“The success of this insertion not only signifies ISRO’s capabilities in such complex orbital manoeuvres but also gives confidence to handle future interplanetary missions,” ISRO said.
The satellite placed in the orbit of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth, has covered only one per cent of the distance to the Sun. It will be undertaking several studies on the impact of the Sun’s radiation, solar flares, solar storms and other particles on the Earth through payloads.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, said, “From Moonwalk to Sun Dance! What a glorious turn of the year for Bharat! Under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi, yet another success story was scripted by Team #ISRO. #AdityaL1 reaches its final orbit to discover the mysteries of the Sun-Earth connection.”
The spacecraft was launched on September 2, 2023, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The mission has been in the works for about three years and in discussion since 2008. Aditya-L1 has been developed indigenously by ISRO and is expected to have a life of five years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to platform X to congratulate team ISRO and the entire nation. “It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realising among the most complex and intricate space missions,” he said.
President of India Droupadi Murmu also congratulated the ISRO team on its success. "Another grand feat accomplished by ISRO! Congratulations to the entire Indian scientist community for the great achievement! The significant participation of women scientists in ISRO missions takes women empowerment too onto a higher orbit," she said on X.
The satellite was placed in a halo orbit of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth. Aditya-L1 is at around 1% of the distance from the earth to the sun, and will be undertaking several studies to study the impact of the sun’s radiation, solar flares, solar storms and other particles on the Earth.
Being at the L1 point comes with the major advantage of being able to continuously view the sun without any occultation or eclipses, ISRO scientistis said.
Several eminent people and individuals took to social media to congratulate the space agency and celebrate the collective victory of another successful space mission of the country.
The spacecraft was launched on September 2, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The mission has been in the works for about 3 years and in discussion since 2008. Aditya L1 has been developed indigenously by ISRO and is expected to have a life of 5 years. However, scientists added that it can go beyond that.
Following is the chronology of events related to Aditya L1.
September 2, 2023: ISRO launches Aditya-L1 onboard PSLV-C57.
September 3: First Earth-bound maneuver performed successfully, attaining an orbit of 245 km x 22459 km.
September 5: Second Earth-bound maneuver performed successfully.
The new orbit attained was 282 km x 40225 km.
September 10: Third Earth-bound manoeuvre attains new orbit of 296 km x 71767 km.
September 15: Fourth Earth-bound manoeuvre to achieve new orbit 256 km x 121973 km performed successfully.
September 18: Aditya-L1 commenced the collection of scientific data.
September 30: The spacecraft escaped the sphere of Earth's influence and goes on its way to the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1(L1).
October 6: Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) was performed for about 16 seconds to correct the trajectory. TCM enured the spacecraft was on its intended path towards the Halo orbit insertion around L1.
November 7: HEL1OS payload captured first High-Energy X-ray glimpse of Solar Flares.
December 1: Solar wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS) in the Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment(ASPEX) payload was made operational.
December 10: The SUIT payload captures full-disk images of the Sun in near ultraviolet wavelengths.
January 6, 2024: India's first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches its destination.
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