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This is an archive article published on September 3, 2023

Aditya-L1 healthy, first orbit-raising exercise successful: ISRO

Stating that the satellite is “healthy and operating nominally”, the ISRO said the first Earth-bound manoeuvre has been “performed successfully” from ISTRAC, Bengaluru.

ISRO's launch vehicle PSLV-C57 rocket carrying India's first solar mission, 'Aditya-L1', lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Sriharikota, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. (PTI Photo)

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A day after it launched the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, the country’s first mission to study the Sun, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) carried out the first orbit-raising manoeuvre Sunday.

Stating that the satellite is “healthy and operating nominally”, the ISRO said the first Earth-bound manoeuvre has been “performed successfully” from ISTRAC, Bengaluru.

“The new orbit attained is 245 km x 22459 km” and the next manoeuvre, it said, is scheduled for 0300 Hours IST on September 5.

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The Aditya-L1 mission was launched from the Sriharikota spaceport shortly before noon Saturday and placed in an Earth orbit, 235 km x 19,500 km, an hour later.

Over the next few days, the spacecraft will continue to move around the Earth, progressively raising its orbit and gaining momentum, before embarking on its four-month journey to the Lagrange-1 point of the Earth-Sun system.

Also Read | First earth-bound manoeuvre of Aditya L1 performed successfully, says ISRO

It is from this point, about 1.5 million km from Earth, that the Aditya-L1 spacecraft will observe the Sun and carry out experiments.

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The heavier version of the PSLV rocket that put the satellite in orbit Saturday achieved a milestone of its own. This was the first time that the fourth stage of the PSLV was fired two separate times to insert the spacecraft in the intended orbit.

During the firing of the fourth stage of PSLV and the coasting phase in between, there were two instances – one for nearly 25 minutes and another for just over two minutes – when there were no eyes on the satellite. It was only after a ship-based station in the Bay of Bengal and then the Kourou ground station in French Guiana acquired the data that the flight path could be seen.

Explained

Seven payloads, the task

The observatory-class spacecraft is carrying seven payloads. The main objective of the mission is to get a deeper understanding of the Sun, and how its radiation, heat, flow of particles, and magnetic fields affect the Earth. Studying the Sun from space ensures that there are no distortions to the measurements that would be experienced on Earth due to the atmosphere, magnetic field and dust particles.

A scientist from the space agency said the mission should ideally have been launched in August. Launching it in September meant that the spacecraft had to travel longer to achieve the specific angle at which it needed to be inserted.

Also Read | The Sun up close: Aditya-L1 mission and its objectives

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“Traditionally, satellites sent to orbits around the Earth do not require such an angle. This was akin to the need for one to leave their house from the backyard, but if you have come out of the front door, what will you do? You will go around to the back. Similarly, the satellite had to go around the Earth for a while in the coasting phase before being inserted into the precise orbit,” the scientist said.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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