ISRO said the satellite is healthy and operating nominally.
| Photo Credit: X/@isro

ISRO Aditya L1, A day after India’s first solar observatory mission which was launched, the first Earth-bound firing to raise the orbit of the ISRO Aditya-L1, was performed on September 3.

The ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network Work (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru performed the manoeuvre.

The space agency said the satellite is healthy and operating nominally. “The first Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#1) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The new orbit attained is 245km x 22459 km. The next maneuvre (EBN#2) is scheduled for September 5, 2023, around 03:00 Hrs. IST,” ISRO posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Post its successful launch ISRO said that the Aditya-L1 started generating the power and that the solar panels are deployed.

Following the launch ISRO Aditya L1 stays Earth-bound orbits for 16 days, during which it undergoes 5 manoeuvres to gain the necessary velocity for its journey.

Subsequently, ISRO Aditya L1 undergoes a Trans-Lagrangian1 insertion manoeuvre, marking the beginning of its 110-day trajectory to the destination around the L1 Lagrange point.

Upon arrival at the L1 point, another manoeuvre binds ISRO Aditya L1 1 to an orbit around L1, a balanced gravitational location between the Earth and the Sun.

The satellite spends its whole mission life orbiting around L1 in an irregularly shaped orbit in a plane roughly perpendicular to the line joining the Earth and the Sun.

ISRO Aditya-L1 Mission:

• Objective: The primary objective of the Aditya-L1 mission is to study the Sun, specifically focusing on understanding its outermost layer, known as the corona, and the impact of solar activities on Earth’s climate and space weather.
• Payloads: The spacecraft will carry a suite of scientific instruments to observe the Sun, including a Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), which will capture images of the solar corona, and other instruments for various scientific observations.
• Launch: The mission is scheduled to be launched into a halo orbit around the first Lagrangian point (L1) in space, which provides a stable platform for continuous solar observation. This orbit will allow the spacecraft to have an uninterrupted view of the Sun.
• Significance: Aditya-L1 is a significant mission as it will help improve our understanding of the Sun’s behavior, which can have a direct impact on space weather, communication systems, and navigation. It will also contribute to scientific research in solar physics and heliophysics.
• Collaboration: ISRO is collaborating with various international space agencies and organizations on this mission to enhance its scientific capabilities and data-sharing efforts.

Aditya-L1 is an important step in India’s space exploration efforts, focusing on solar research and contributing to our knowledge of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the broader solar system.