Aditya L1 completes its fourth earth-bound maneuver successfully

India’s Aditya L1 spacecraft, the nation’s inaugural space mission dedicated to studying the Sun, recently achieved success in its fourth earth-bound maneuver. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) disclosed that the spacecraft underwent this maneuver during the early hours of Friday. This operation was meticulously monitored by ISRO’s ground stations in locations such as Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR, and Port Blair, with support from a transportable terminal stationed in Fiji. The new orbit achieved measures 256 km x 121973 km. Aditya-L1’s upcoming significant step, the Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I), is scheduled for September 19, around 02:00 Hrs. IST. This move will mark its departure from Earth and initiate a 16-day journey, gaining the required velocity for its subsequent voyage to the L1 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth.

Once it reaches the L1 point, Aditya L1 will undergo another maneuver to secure its orbit around this balanced gravitational location, positioned between the Earth and the Sun. Throughout its mission life, the satellite will continually orbit around L1, tracing an irregularly shaped path in a plane nearly perpendicular to the line connecting Earth and the Sun. This mission is significant in India’s space exploration endeavors, allowing for in-depth solar research and enhancing our understanding of our closest star.