Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
India’s first solar mission, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, successfully completed its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point, ISRO announced on Tuesday.
ISRO confirmed that a station-keeping manoeuvre on Tuesday facilitated the spacecraft's smooth transition into its second halo orbit.
The Aditya-L1 mission, launched on September 2, 2023, entered its targeted halo orbit on January 6, 2024, marking a significant milestone for India's solar observatory at the Lagrangian point L1.
According to ISRO, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft takes 178 days to complete a revolution around the L1 point in its halo orbit.
The spacecraft experiences various perturbing forces during its travel in the halo orbit, which can cause deviations from its targeted path. ISRO performed station-keeping maneuvers on February 22 and June 7 to maintain the orbit.
The third station-keeping manoeuvre, performed on Tuesday, ensured the spacecraft continued its journey in the second halo orbit around L1, as confirmed by ISRO.
ISRO explained that Aditya L1’s journey around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point involves complex dynamic modelling to accurately determine the spacecraft's trajectory and plan precise orbit manoeuvres.
ISRO highlighted that the successful manoeuvre validated the state-of-the-art flight dynamics software developed in-house at URSC-ISRO for the Aditya-L1 mission.
This milestone demonstrates ISRO’s capability in managing complex space missions and ensuring precise control over spacecraft trajectories in challenging orbital environments.