The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on July 2 that India’s pioneering solar mission, Aditya-L1, had completed its halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point.
This milestone was reached after a station-keeping manoeuvre led to the transition into the second halo orbit.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft of ISRO completed circling the L1 point in the halo orbit in 178 days.
This achievement was made possible following a station-keeping manoeuvre that transitioned it into the second halo orbit.
The Aditya-L1 mission is an Indian solar observatory located at the Lagrangian point L1. It was launched in September last year.
ISRO positioned the spaceship into the intended halo orbit on January 6, 2024.
ISRO stated, “With the current expedition, the in-house developed state-of-the-art flight dynamics software has been fully validated for Aditya-L1 missions.”
The space organization emphasized the complexity of the scientific study involved in Aditya-L1’s expedition around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point. Understanding various forces acting on it was crucial for determining the accurate spacecraft trajectory and orbit movement.
According to ISRO, the spacecraft encountered various forces that could divert it from its planned path. The spacecraft performed two station-keeping manoeuvres to maintain its orbit on February 22 and June 7.
This recent movement of the spacecraft on Tuesday ensured that it continued along the second halo orbit path around L1.