Sun, has successfully completed its second earth-bound manoeuvre. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made this announcement during the early hours of Tuesday, marking a crucial step in the mission's progress.
The manoeuvre, known as the «second Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#2),» was executed flawlessly by ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC) located in Bengaluru.
The operation was closely monitored by ISRO's ground stations in Mauritius, Bengaluru, and Port Blair. The result of this manoeuvre is a new orbit with dimensions measuring 282 kilometers by 40,225 kilometers.
Looking ahead, the third manoeuvre (EBN#3) is scheduled for September 10, 2023, at around 02:30 Hrs.
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Aditya-L1 distinguishes itself as the first Indian space-based observatory designed to study the Sun. It orbits the first sun-earth Lagrangian point (L1), situated approximately 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth.
The mission's initial earth-bound manoeuvre was successfully executed on September 3, setting the stage for what lies ahead.
The spacecraft is anticipated to undergo two more earth-bound orbital manoeuvres before it is transferred to its final destination, the Lagrange point L1. Aditya-L1 is projected to reach its designated orbit at the L1 point after approximately 127 days.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft was launched into space aboard ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57) on September 2, 2023, from the Second Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.