ISRO Prepares for Crucial Manoeuvre, Aditya-L1 to enter Final Orbit today

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is poised to execute a critical manoeuvre on Saturday, placing the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, India’s inaugural space-based observatory dedicated to sun study, into its definitive orbit approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth. The satellite, stationed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange (L1) point, enables continuous sun observation, even during eclipses.

Launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on September 2 of the preceding year, Aditya-L1 underwent a series of earth-bound manoeuvres conducted by the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru between September 3 and 15. The Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 insertion manoeuvre on September 19 marked the commencement of its 110-day journey to the halo orbit around the L1 point.

Scheduled for around 4 pm, ISRO scientists and engineers at the Mission Operations Complex of ISTRAC are set to execute the critical manoeuvre. The spacecraft, equipped with a 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engine, along with eight 22 Newton thrusters and four 10 Newton thrusters, will intermittently use the LAM and thrusters for the manoeuvre.

Aditya-L1 is outfitted with seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona of the sun. These payloads are designed to study solar emissions and directly view the sun. The mission has a projected lifespan of five years, during which it aims to provide insights into various solar phenomena, including coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities, and space weather.

Upon reaching the L1 point, the ISRO satellite will join four operational probes, including NASA’s WIND, Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), and Deep Space Climate Observatory, as well as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency.

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