Aditya-L1, India's first space-based solar observatory to study the Sun, started generating power after its solar panels were deployed. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) posted this update after PSLV-C57 successfully placed Aditya-L1 into the intended orbit. This low-Earth orbit is circular, and in order to make the orbit elliptical, Aditya-L1 will undergo an Earth-bound orbit-raising manoeuvre. The first orbit-raising manoeuvre, or perigee burn, will take place on September 3, 2023, at 11:45 am IST.
ISRO successfully launched Aditya-L1 towards the Sun on September 2, at 11:50 am IST, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Aditya-L1 will undergo three orbit-raising manoeuvres, following which it will enter the cruise phase. The cruise phase will direct Aditya-L1 towards its destination. The observatory will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point 1 (L1).
This is a strategic location where Aditya-L1 will be able to save fuel, and will also have an uninterrupted view of the Sun. L1 is located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.
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It will take Aditya-L1 about 125 days to reach the halo orbit around L1. Aditya-L1 will study the Sun's corona, the mechanisms of solar activities, the problem of coronal heating, the dynamics of coronal mass ejections, and how solar activities affect space weather, among other objectives.
The spacecraft will remain operational for five years. It is equipped with seven payloads, which are of two types: remote sensing and in-situ payloads. There are four remote sensing payloads and two in-situ payloads.
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The remote sensing payloads will serve as spectrometers, and analyse the radiation from the Sun in different wavelengths. The in-situ payloads will study the environment around L1 to understand how particles emitted by the Sun affect the interplanetary medium.