Almost ten days after creating history, ISRO launched its ambitious solar mission Aditya-L1 earlier on Saturday at 11.50 a.m. IST as the PSLV soared into space. Aditya-L1 is India’s first space-based observatory directed to study the Sun and the various mechanics, functions, and phenomena the white giant is capable of.
Aditya-L1 made its maiden launch from the eastern coast of India at about 135Km off Chennai on a 44.4m Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) directed towards Lagrange Point 1 (L1) about 1.5 million km away from the Earth. The 23:40-hours countdown came to an end at 11:50 am when PSLV-C57 made its launch towards L1 in the Halo orbit which is a point closest to the sun.
The L1 point in the solar system gives Aditya-L1 an uninterrupted view of the sun as it stays stationary within the Earth-Sun system. L1 point was discovered by mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange (thus, the name) as the one where the spacecraft will have no eclipses or occultation when observing the sun from a safe distance. It is also the point where satellites can detect magnetic storms and solar radiation before they have to face Earth’s magnetic field.
There are five points between Earth and Sun aptly named L1 through L5 each having its significance when it comes to space observation. Coming back to L1, the point is home to several other observatories from across the globe such as ACE, SOHO, WIND, and DSCOVR, among others.
Based on countless calculations and data, Aditya-L1 will orbit around the Earth for 16 days making five maneuvers to advance in velocity and orbits. It will reach the L1 point in about 125 days where the spacecraft will stay put. L1 point is also referred to as a parking area where the spacecraft can stay without putting much fuel consumption. Once deployed, it will use seven of the specialized payloads to conduct various scientific tests to study the sun.
The spacecraft saw intended separations with Aditya-L1 deployed in a highly eccentric orbit at 12:53 p.m. As of 1.36 pm IST, the spacecraft was injected in an elliptical orbit at 235×19500 km around the Earth.
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