Aditya L1 spacecraft, Bharat’s first space-based mission to study the
Sun, is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are
expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S
Somanath.
“Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,”
the ISRO chief told Press Trust of India on the sidelines of an event organised
at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch.
He said the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1
point are currently underway incrementally.
“Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering
into the L1 point,” Somanath added.
Aditya L1 was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125
days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1,
considered closest to the Sun.
Among other tasks, it will capture and transmit pictures of the Sun for
scientific experiments.
PTI
