ADITYA-L1 AMONG THE LONGEST PSLV MISSION

Aditya-LI begins 1.5 million-km trek to solar vantage point today

ADITYA-L1 AMONG THE LONGEST PSLV MISSION

Even as several Isro teams continue to romance the Moon, the space organisation entered on Friday the last leg of prepa rations for a 'surya namas- kar', kicking off the nearly 24-hour countdown to the 11.50am Saturday launch of Aditya-L1.

Aditya-Ll, India's first solar space observatory mission, will be launched in PSLV's 59th flight, after several years of development. So far only the US and the Euro pean Space Agency (ESA) ha- ve independently (and jointly) launched solar missions, while Germany has sent probes km. with US's Nasa.

T This will be one of the longest PSLV mis- sions ever undertaken. The February 2021 mission that put Brazil's Amazonia satellite and 18 others into orbits took more than 1 hour and 55 minutes, while cts in the the September 2016 mission help his that put eight satellites into orbits took 2 hours and 15 minutes. Both involved multiple satellites and orbits unlike Aditya-L1.

 

Unlike a regular PSLV launch profile, which places the spacecraft into orbit in roughly under 25 minutes from lift off, Aditya's separation is projected to happen 63 minutes after the rocket blasts off from the second launch pad in  Sriharikota.

Soon after its successful Aditya-Ll, will venture into  the study of solar activity and its effect on space weather. The scientific objectives of Aditya-L1 include the deliberat study of coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal mass ejections, dynamics of solar atmosphere and temperature anisotropy.To achieve this, the spacecraft is carrying seven scientific in struments.