By Geographic Book
Aditya L1 is expected to take about 4 months from the time of launch from Earth to reach the L1 point. Here is a phase-wise description of the trajectory of Aditya L1.
Launch from Earth: Initially, the spacecraft will be placed in a Low Earth Orbit. Subsequently, the orbit will be made more elliptical.
Launch towards L1 point: Later the spacecraft will be launched towards the Lagrange point (L1) by using onboard propulsion. As the spacecraft travels towards L1, it will exit the Earth’s gravitational Sphere of Influence (SOI).
Cruise phase: After the exit from SOI, the cruise phase will start.
Insertion into Halo orbit: Finally, the spacecraft will be injected into a large halo orbit around L1.
Lagrange points are areas in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as the Sun and Earth, balance each other out. For two-body gravitational systems, there are a total of five Lagrange points, denoted as L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5. The Lagrange point L1 lies between the Sun-Earth line.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its Aditya L1 solar mission on September 2, 2023, at 11:50 AM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota by ISRO’s PSLV XL rocket. The spacecraft is carrying seven payloads that shall observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle detectors.
For more Articles on Geography please visit geographicbook.com