India's first dedicated solar mission, Aditya-L1, has successfully completed its second halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point as planned. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) reported that a station keeping maneuver was carried out on Tuesday to ensure a seamless transition of the spacecraft into its targeted second orbit around the unstable Lagrange point L1.
After launching on September 2nd, 2023 and inserting into its initial halo orbit on January 6th, 2024, Aditya-L1 has now maintained its scientifically optimized path around L1, the first point in space where the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth is balanced. During its orbit, which takes around 178 days to complete one revolution, the spacecraft will be perturbed by various forces that require correction. ISRO has previously conducted two such maneuvers on February 22nd and June 7th.
Conducting complex orbital operations involves precise trajectory modeling to account for perturbing dynamics. ISRO's in-house developed flight software accurately planned Tuesday's operation to validate the mission. Aditya-L1 will now continue collecting data over the next year to study the solar corona and dynamics of the sun's atmosphere, helping advance our understanding of space weather events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
The successful orbital maintenance ensures the vital solar research mission remains on track. It highlights ISRO's expertise in managing interplanetary missions, no small feat for a nation's first venture beyond Earth orbit. With Aditya-L1 circling L1 as intended, more insights into the star at the center of our solar system are imminent.
