The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said early on Tuesday that Aditya L1, the country’s first solar mission, successfully performed the second Earth-bound manoeuvre.
The space agency’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) carried out the operation.
“The second Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#2) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. ISTRAC/Isro’s ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation. The new orbit attained is 282 kilometres x 40,225 km,” Isro shared the update on X.
The next manoeuvre is scheduled for September 10 around 2:30 am, according to Isro.
Aditya L1’s first Earth-bound manoeuvre was successfully performed on September 3.
The spacecraft will undergo two more earth-bound orbital manoeuvres before placing in the transfer orbit towards Lagrange point L1 of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth. This location provides a continuous and unhindered view of the Sun, making it an ideal spot for solar observation.
Aditya-L1 is expected to arrive at the intended orbit at the L1 point after about 127 days.
Aditya-L1 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on September 1. The spacecraft, weighing 1,472 kg, was carried into space by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in ‘XL’ configuration, ISRO’s most reliable and versatile workhorse rocket.
The primary objective of the Aditya-L1 mission is to study the Sun’s upper atmospheric layers, specifically the chromosphere and corona. The mission will also examine coronal mass ejections (CMEs), large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s corona, and analyse the corona’s magnetic field, the driver of space weather.
Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads, including the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VLEC) to study the solar corona, the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) to capture the UV image of the solar photosphere and chromosphere, and the Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) to analyse X-ray flares.