India’s first solar observatory mission Aditya-L1 launched by ISRO

About 63 minutes after take-off, the separation from the satellite took place with the PSLV launching the Aditya-L1 spacecraft in a highly eccentric orbit around Earth at 12.53 p.m.

India’s first solar observatory mission — Aditya-L1 — was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on September 2.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), in its 59th flight with the Aditya-L1 onboard, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 11.50 a.m.

About 63 minutes after take-off, the separation from the satellite took place with the PSLV launching the Aditya-L1 spacecraft in a highly eccentric orbit around Earth at 12.53 p.m.

The PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 mission was among the longest missions involving ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle in recent times.

Following the launch, Aditya-L1 stays in orbit around Earth for 16 days, during which it will undergo five manoeuvres to gain the necessary velocity for its long journey towards the Sun.

Subsequently, Aditya-L1 will undergo a Trans-Lagrangian1 insertion manoeuvre, marking the beginning of its 110-day trajectory to the destination around the L1 Lagrange point. Upon arrival at the L1 point, another manoeuvre binds Aditya-L1 to an orbit around L1, a balanced gravitational location between the Earth and the Sun.

The spacecraft will perform orbital manoeuvres by using its Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engine to reach L1.