Science

Aditya-L1 Orbit Raised A Second Time; New Orbit Swings Solar Craft Over 40,000 km Away

Karan KambleSep 05, 2023, 12:23 PM | Updated 12:23 PM IST
An illustration of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft after it has been deployed, depicted in an ISRO mission booklet

An illustration of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft after it has been deployed, depicted in an ISRO mission booklet


The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday (5 September) raised the orbit of India's first-ever solar spacecraft, Aditya-L1, a second time since launch last Saturday (2 September).

The new orbit attained is 282 km x 40,225 km. At its farthest point in the orbit around Earth, Aditya-L1 is over 40,000 km away.

The second Earth-bound manoeuvre was executed successfully from the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, early in the day, at around 2.45 am.

ISRO posted an update on X soon after, at 3 am.

"ISTRAC/ISRO's ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation," the space agency said.


Five Earth-bound manoeuvres are planned for Aditya-L1, each one taking the solar craft further away from Earth. By the end of it, Aditya-L1 will have picked up the velocity necessary for a long journey to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1.

Then begins an approximately 110-day journey to the vicinity of L1.

Once Aditya-L1 nears its destination, ISRO will execute a manoeuvre to bind the spacecraft to an orbit around L1.

The total journey time from Earth to L1, spanning a distance of about 15 lakh kilometres, is estimated to be about four months.

Earth-bound manoeuvre 2 for Aditya-L1; this graphic carries a logo not present in the first one

Read More:


Join our WhatsApp channel - no spam, only sharp analysis