Aditya-L1 embarks on 110-day journey to L1 point
The Hindu
ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission to Sun's L1 point successful; data collection by STEPS payload begins. ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission to study Sun from L1 point successful; STEPS payload begins data collection.
India’s first space-based observatory to study the Sun, Aditya-L1, is headed to the Lagrangian 1 (L1) point as ISRO carried out the Trans-Lagrangian 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre in the early hours of September 19.
The TL1I manoeuvre marks the beginning of Aditya-L1’s 110-day journey towards the L1 point which lies between the Sun-Earth line. L1 is about 1.5 million km from the Earth and the distance of L1 from Earth is approximately 1% of the Earth-Sun distance.
“Off to Sun-Earth L1 point! The Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuvre is performed successfully. The spacecraft is now on a trajectory that will take it to the Sun-Earth L1 point. It will be injected into an orbit around L1 through a maneuver after about 110 days. This is the fifth consecutive time ISRO has successfully transferred an object on a trajectory toward another celestial body or location in space,” ISRO posted on X.
Aditya-L1 was launched on September 2 by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Following the launch, Aditya-L1 carried out four earth-bound manoeuvres between September 3 and September 15.
Aditya-L1, which is dedicated to the comprehensive study of the Sun, has seven payloads. Five payloads were developed by ISRO and two by Indian academic institutes in collaboration with the space agency.
Upon arrival at the L1 point in January 2024, another manoeuvre will be performed which will bind Aditya-L1 to an orbit around L1. The satellite will spend its mission life orbiting around L1 in an irregularly shaped orbit in a plane roughly perpendicular to the line joining the Earth and the Sun.