Isro chairman S. Somanath’s reaction as Aditya-L1 successfully detaches from PSLV after the launch of a solar mission

In order to study the Sun, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft launched on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, rocket on Saturday at 11.50 a.m. from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. An hour later, the spacecraft safely detached from the rocket, according to ISRO chairman S. Somanath. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, Aditya-L1 will now begin its 125-day trip toward the Sun.

The spacecraft was “injected in the precise orbit,” according to S Somanath. “The PSLV very precisely injected the Aditya L1 spacecraft in an elliptical orbit of 235 by 19,500 km,” he added.

“I applaud PSLV for taking such a novel approach to the Aditya-L1 Mission. The L1 Point will now serve as the mission’s departure point. It takes about 125 days to complete the voyage. Let’s wish the Aditya spacecraft all the best,” the ISRO chief said.

He spoke from the Mission Control Center, surrounded by Union minister Jitendra Singh, project director Nigar Shaji, and mission director Biju. “From now on Aditya L1 will go on a long journey for 125 days,” he stated.

According to Shaji, the PSLV successfully sent the spacecraft into orbit as usual, and the solar panels have been extended. She stated, “Aditya L1 has begun its 125-day trek to the Sun.

A “sunshine moment,” according to Union Minister Singh, who also hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his assistance to the space industry.

Aditya-L1 would investigate the Sun’s outer atmosphere, which is a vast disk of gas. Aditya-L1 won’t touch down on the Sun or go any closer to it, according to ISRO.

To get to the Halo orbit, which is thought to be the closest to the sun, it will need to travel for around 125 days.

Aditya-L1, a spacecraft that weighs around 1,480.7 kg, is the first class of observatory to study the Sun from space.

Mission goals for Aditya-L1
Studying coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal mass ejections (CME), solar atmosphere dynamics, and temperature anisotropy are among the goals of the Aditya-L1 project.

The Aditya-L1 remains in Earth-bound orbit for 16 days after taking off on Saturday. During this time, it performs five maneuvers to achieve the required velocity for its ascent towards the Sun.

The spacecraft then performs a Trans-Lagrangian 1 insertion maneuver, which kicks off the start of its 110-day journey to the target orbit.

Once reaching the L1, which is a gravitationally balanced region between the Earth and the Sun, another maneuver locks Aditya-L1 into an orbit around it.

According to ISRO, the spacecraft spends the whole of its five-year mission life in an erratically shaped orbit around L1 in a plane nearly perpendicular to the line connecting the Earth and the Sun.

The spacecraft can keep a steady, uninterrupted view of the Sun because to its careful positioning near the L1 Lagrange point. According to the space agency, the satellite can access solar energy and magnetic storms from this position before they are affected by the magnetic field and atmosphere of Earth.

Lagrange point L1
The gravitational stability of the L1 point also reduces the frequency of orbital maintenance activities, increasing the operational effectiveness of the spacecraft.

Aditya-L1 will continue to orbit the Earth at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers (1%) of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

According to ISRO, the PSLV C57 is the launch vehicle’s 59th flight and the 25th mission to use the PSLV-XL configuration.

The Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere serve as a barrier, blocking hazardous wavelength radiations. Solar investigations are conducted from space to find this radiation.

Seven scientific payloads are carried by the Aditya-L1 mission to conduct the research.

The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, which investigates the dynamics of CMEs and the solar corona, will transmit 1,440 photos per day to the ground station for evaluation once it has reached the desired orbit.

The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope payload also detects fluctuations in solar irradiance while taking near-ultraviolet photographs of the solar photosphere and chromosphere.

The solar wind and energetic ions as well as the energy distribution are studied by the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) and Plasma Analyzer Package for Aditya (PAPA) payloads.

X-ray flares from the Sun are studied by the Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) throughout a broad X-ray energy range.

Interplanetary magnetic fields may be measured at the L1 point using the Magnetometer payload.

Aditya-L1’s science payloads were produced in-house by a number of ISRO centers working closely together.