📷 Image Credits: The New Indian Express
India’s maiden mission to the Sun, Aditya-L1, has achieved a significant milestone by completing its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange 1 point, as confirmed by ISRO on July 2, 2024. Launched on September 2, 2023, the observatory satellite was successfully inserted into its targeted halo orbit on January 6, 2024, after undergoing an extraordinary feat and crucial manoeuvre. The state-of-the-art flight dynamics software developed inhouse at UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru played a key role in ensuring the spacecraft’s precise trajectory.
During its journey, the spacecraft underwent two station-keeping manoeuvres, with the latest one on July 2, to maintain its orbit and avoid moving away from the designated path. The Aditya-L1 mission, equipped with seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona of the Sun, aims to provide vital insights into solar physics and space weather. Additionally, it seeks to protect Indian satellites from solar storms, benefiting scientific research and various industries. The successful completion of the first halo orbit marks a significant achievement in India’s space exploration endeavors.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft’s halo orbit ensures unobstructed observations of the Sun for the next five years, providing valuable data for scientific research and space weather forecasting. The spacecraft’s rigorous journey around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point involves precise planning and navigation to overcome perturbing forces and maintain its targeted trajectory. ISRO’s validation of the flight dynamics software and the spacecraft’s successful orbit insertion demonstrate the agency’s expertise in complex orbital maneuvers. The milestone achieved by Aditya-L1 sets a strong foundation for future interplanetary missions and highlights India’s advancements in space technology and exploration.
