The Aditya-L1 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota onboard the space agency’s workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57).
India’s first dedicated solar mission, Aditya-L1, is set to embark on its next phase of exploration after successfully launching into space on September 2.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said that the spacecraft has completed three of its five Earth-bound manoeuvres and is now poised for its next move on September 15.
The Aditya-L1 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota onboard the space agency’s workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57), marking another significant achievement for India’s space program.
The successful launch came just ten days after the landing of Isro’s moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 in the south polar region.
The satellite, named after the Sanskrit word for “Sun,” is equipped with seven distinct payloads developed indigenously by ISRO and academic institutions. These instruments are designed to study various aspects of the Sun’s atmosphere and its impact on space weather.
After its three earth-bound maneuvers, Aditya L1 is currently located at the orbit at 282 km x 40225 km.
The spacecraft is expected to reach its observation point in four months, where it will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), a point in space between the Earth and the Sun that allows for continuous observation of the Sun.