India's First Solar Mission, Aditya-L1 Launch Successful, Has Started Generating Power, Says ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that the launch of India's first solar mission, Aditya-L1 by PSLV-C57, has been accomplished successfully.
According to the space agency, the vehicle has placed the satellite precisely into its intended orbit. India's first solar observatory has begun its journey to the destination of Sun-Earth L1 point.
ISRO added that Aditya-L1 has started generating the power, and the first EarthBound firing to raise the orbit is scheduled for September 3, 2023, around 11:45.
Longest launch mission of ISRO??
This was one of the longest missions for the rocket as well as for ISRO.
About 63 minutes after the lift-off, the rocket ejected Aditya-L1,?and the whole mission ended about 73 minutes after the passivation of the fourth stage.
"We have to meet the argument of perigee of the satellite. For that, we are following two burn strategies for the fourth stage. After the first burn, there is a long coasting to achieve the argument of perigee that occurs naturally," Dr S Unnikrishnan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), told IANS.
PSLV-XL variant used for Aditya-L1 launch
Aditya-L1 was launched at 11:50 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) launch pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The rocket that flew on Saturday was the XL variant ¨C with longer strap-on motors.
Interestingly, the XL variant rocket was used for the first time for India's first interplanetary mission ¨C the Chandrayaan-1. Later, the rocket was used for Chandrayaan-2 and Mars Mission/Mars Orbiter Mission.
And Saturday's PSLV-XL variant is flying for the 25th time for another interplanetary mission.
Aditya-L1 will travel for 125 days??
The Aditya-L1 is undertaking a 125-day long journey covering about 1.5 million km to its intended slot (L1- Lagrange Point 1) to study the Sun.
Put into the low earth orbit (LEO), Aditya-L1's orbit will initially be elliptical. As the spacecraft travels towards Lagrange Point (L1), it will exit the Earth's gravitational Sphere of Influence (SOI).
After exiting from SOI, the cruise phase will start, and subsequently, the spacecraft will be injected into a large halo orbit around the L1 -- the point where the gravitational pull of two large bodies ¨C Sun and Earth-will be equal and hence, the spacecraft will not gravitate towards any one of the planets.
The total travel time from launch to L1 would take about four months for Aditya-L1, and the distance will be about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
What Aditya-L1? means for India, science?
"Once the Aditya-L1 reaches the L1 point, it will be a great asset for the scientific community," said Nigar Shaji, Project Director of Aditya-L1.
"The mission is India's first foray into space-based studies of the Sun. If it reaches Lagrange point L1 in space, ISRO will join the ranks of NASA and the European Space Agency as the third space agency to station a solar observatory there," Dibyendu Nandi, head of the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, said.
Professor Somak Raychaudhury, Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University, underscores that this mission goes beyond scientific curiosity as it carries implications for the industry and society.
"While the Aditya-L1 mission primarily pursues scientific goals, its impact extends to critical aspects of industry and society," Raychaudhury, who was previously the director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, told PTI.
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