Aditya L1 launched: When will it reach its destination?
Aditya-L1, the first space mission of the indian space research organisation (ISRO) to study the sun, was launched on september 2. At 11:50 IST, the spacecraft launched flawlessly from the satish dhawan space centre in Sriharikota using the PSLV-XL rocket. Over an hour later, it was launched into space. It is now travelling towards the Lagrange point 1 (L1), which will take it around four months to arrive.
The Lagrange points are places in space where the gravitational pull of two massive entities, such as the Earth and the sun, balances the pull of a smaller object, such as a satellite. The Earth-Sun system has five such locations, designated L1 to L5. The L1 point is situated 1.5 million kilometres distant from Earth in the direction of the sun, halfway between the Earth and the Sun. A satellite or observatory placed in this advantageous location will be able to maintain its position with respect to the sun and Earth while using less fuel and providing an uninterrupted view of our star.
The route taken by Aditya-L1 to reach L1 is well designed. The spacecraft's orbit will become more elliptical after being put in a Low Earth Orbit by means of its own propulsion system. Then, it will be directed towards L1. With this trajectory, the mission's success is maximised while using the least amount of fuel possible.
The Lagrange points are places in space where the gravitational pull of two massive entities, such as the Earth and the sun, balances the pull of a smaller object, such as a satellite. The Earth-Sun system has five such locations, designated L1 to L5. The L1 point is situated 1.5 million kilometres distant from Earth in the direction of the sun, halfway between the Earth and the Sun. A satellite or observatory placed in this advantageous location will be able to maintain its position with respect to the sun and Earth while using less fuel and providing an uninterrupted view of our star.
The route taken by Aditya-L1 to reach L1 is well designed. The spacecraft's orbit will become more elliptical after being put in a Low Earth Orbit by means of its own propulsion system. Then, it will be directed towards L1. With this trajectory, the mission's success is maximised while using the least amount of fuel possible.