ISRO Successfully Places Aditya-L1 in Halo Orbit around L1 Point

• 09 Jan 2024

On 6^th January, 2024, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a major milestone by positioning the Aditya-L1 spacecraft in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point (L1) after a 1.5-million km journey.

Key Points

• Halo Orbit Insertion: ISRO scientists conducted a precise firing manoeuvre at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru, successfully placing the spacecraft in a halo orbit around L1.
• Critical Corrections Made: ISRO Chairman highlighted the need for corrections during the halo orbit insertion to ensure the spacecraft's precise placement and prevent any possibility of deviation from L1.
• Orbit Characteristics: Aditya-L1's periodic halo orbit, located approximately 1.5 million km from Earth, ensures a mission lifetime of 5 years with minimal fuel consumption and a continuous, unobstructed view of the Sun.
• Continuous Monitoring: The successful insertion involved constant monitoring, speed adjustments, and position control using onboard thrusters, showcasing ISRO's capability in complex orbital manoeuvres.
• Scientific Payloads: Aditya-L1, equipped with seven payloads, will study the sun's photosphere, chromosphere, and corona, providing crucial insights into coronal heating, mass ejections, space weather dynamics, and particle propagation.
• Mission Objectives: With a mission life of five years, Aditya-L1 aims to unravel mysteries related to solar activities, including pre-flare and flare activities, contributing significant information to the understanding of space weather.
• Lagrange Points Explained: ISRO explains Lagrange Points as positions where a small object in a two-body gravitational system tends to stay. The L1 point, located 1.5 million km from Earth, allows continuous solar observation without occultation or eclipse.