Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently confirmed that the launch of Aditya L1,the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is scheduled at 11: 50 AM on September 2, 2023
“The launch of Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is scheduled for September 2, 2023, at 11:50 Hrs. IST from Sriharikota,” ISRO said in a post on X
The Aditya-L1 mission will be launched by ISRO PSLV rocket from Sathish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota
ISRO has also invited Indian citizens to witness the launch of Aditya L1 mission from the Launch View Gallery at Sriharikota by registering through the website https://lvg.shar.gov.in/VSCREGISTRATION/index.jsp
The registration process will commence from 12 PM of August 29, 2023
The spacecraft will initially be placed in a low earth orbit. Subsequently, the orbit will be made more elliptical and later the spacecraft will be launched towards the Lagrange point L1 by using on-board propulsion
Aditya L1 is planned to be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth as it gives a major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/ eclipse
Some of the major objectives of Aditya L1 mission include understanding the coronal heating and solar wind acceleration, learn about the initiation of Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), flares and near-earth space weather
It also aims in understanding coupling and dynamics of solar atmosphere along with solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy
The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle detectors