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Aditya L1: Confident of Aditya L1’s insertion in halo orbit around L1: Nigar Shaji

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Nigar Shaji, project director of India’s first Space-based solar observatory Aditya L1, which is scheduled to reach its final destination at 4 pm on Saturday told ET, she is confident of the spacecraft’s successful insertion in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point L1.

“For the entire global community of heliophysicists, this observatory will be a good source of data. A lot of research can be undertaken, and solar activities can be better understood,” she said.

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Aditya was launched from the Sriharikota spaceport on September 2 and the spacecraft has traversed a distance of 1.5 million km from Earth. The final manoeuvre will involve firing a group of thrusters for a short period of time till 4 pm on Saturday. Aditya L1 has 12 thrusters.

“Once in 45 days, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) would be required to do an orbit maintenance manoeuvre to keep the spacecraft in orbit,” Shaji said.

Otherwise, it may stray from its path depending on the pull of the Sun and Earth’s gravitational forces. She said she is confident of Aditya’s orbit insertion around L1 at 4 pm, however, there are future windows available for orbit insertion in case of failure tomorrow.

“For any operation in Space, we have to maintain thrust, and we have confidence that it will enter the intended orbit. We have some more windows of opportunities in the future, but it depends on what we achieve tomorrow and what the degree of failure is, if any,” she said.

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Four other operational spacecraft at L1 include the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Wind, Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) (launched by SpaceX), and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the NASA-European Space Agency’s (ESA) joint mission. Shaji said Isro has a separate department to calculate the collision coordinates to avoid colliding with other spacecrafts in orbit around L1.

“We have already calculated the collision coordinates. We have a separate department to oversee what our path is compared to other spacecrafts. They have given a go ahead and said there is no threat to our spacecraft,” she said.

She also said the spacecraft has enough fuel to last more than five years in Space, which is the intended mission life.

“As far as fuel is concerned, we have more than five years’ worth to maintain it. Also, all other Space systems have been qualified to survive for more than five years in Space. From an indigenously developed spacecraft point of view this is the first such solar mission,” she said.

L1 has the same set of challenges that any other lagrangian points have, she said.

As per NASA, of the five Lagrange points, three are unstable and two are stable. The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an uninterrupted view of the Sun. Lagrange points are positions in Space where objects sent there tend to stay put. At Lagrange points, the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.

These points in Space can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. It will study the Sun’s outer atmosphere without any interference from eclipses or external disruptions. Data collected around L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena.

It carries seven payloads. While four payloads will observe light from the Sun, three payloads will measure in-situ (in original position) parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.

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Nigar Shaji, project director of India’s first Space-based solar observatory Aditya L1, which is scheduled to reach its final destination at 4 pm on Saturday told ET, she is confident of the spacecraft’s successful insertion in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point L1.

“For the entire global community of heliophysicists, this observatory will be a good source of data. A lot of research can be undertaken, and solar activities can be better understood,” she said.

Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses

Offering College Course Website
Indian School of Business ISB Product Management Visit
Indian School of Business ISB Digital Transformation Visit
MIT MIT Technology Leadership and Innovation Visit

Aditya was launched from the Sriharikota spaceport on September 2 and the spacecraft has traversed a distance of 1.5 million km from Earth. The final manoeuvre will involve firing a group of thrusters for a short period of time till 4 pm on Saturday. Aditya L1 has 12 thrusters.

“Once in 45 days, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) would be required to do an orbit maintenance manoeuvre to keep the spacecraft in orbit,” Shaji said.

Otherwise, it may stray from its path depending on the pull of the Sun and Earth’s gravitational forces. She said she is confident of Aditya’s orbit insertion around L1 at 4 pm, however, there are future windows available for orbit insertion in case of failure tomorrow.

“For any operation in Space, we have to maintain thrust, and we have confidence that it will enter the intended orbit. We have some more windows of opportunities in the future, but it depends on what we achieve tomorrow and what the degree of failure is, if any,” she said.

Discover the stories of your interest


Four other operational spacecraft at L1 include the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Wind, Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) (launched by SpaceX), and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the NASA-European Space Agency’s (ESA) joint mission. Shaji said Isro has a separate department to calculate the collision coordinates to avoid colliding with other spacecrafts in orbit around L1.

“We have already calculated the collision coordinates. We have a separate department to oversee what our path is compared to other spacecrafts. They have given a go ahead and said there is no threat to our spacecraft,” she said.

She also said the spacecraft has enough fuel to last more than five years in Space, which is the intended mission life.

“As far as fuel is concerned, we have more than five years’ worth to maintain it. Also, all other Space systems have been qualified to survive for more than five years in Space. From an indigenously developed spacecraft point of view this is the first such solar mission,” she said.

L1 has the same set of challenges that any other lagrangian points have, she said.

As per NASA, of the five Lagrange points, three are unstable and two are stable. The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an uninterrupted view of the Sun. Lagrange points are positions in Space where objects sent there tend to stay put. At Lagrange points, the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.

These points in Space can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. It will study the Sun’s outer atmosphere without any interference from eclipses or external disruptions. Data collected around L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena.

It carries seven payloads. While four payloads will observe light from the Sun, three payloads will measure in-situ (in original position) parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.

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