The final phase of the manoeuvre involved firing of control engines for a short duration, the space agency said in a statement.
The orbit of Aditya-L1 spacecraft is a periodic halo orbit, which is located roughly 1.5 million km from Earth on the continuously moving Sun – Earth line with an orbital period of about 177.86 days. Aditya L1 reached the orbit after a 126-day journey from Earth.
The halo orbit has been selected to ensure a mission life of five years, minimising station-keeping manoeuvres and thus fuel consumption, and ensuring a continuous, unobstructed view of the Sun, the Isro said in a statement.
The spacecraft will now observe and understand the chromospheric and coronal dynamics of the Sun in a continuous manner, it said.
President Droupadi Murmu, in a post on microblogging platform X, called this another grand feat accomplished by the Indian space agency. “Significant participation of women scientists in Isro missions takes women empowerment too onto a higher orbit,” Murmu said.The Aditya L1 mission is led by a female project director, Nigar Shaji.Shaji told ET on Friday that for the entire global community of heliophysicists, this observatory would be a good source of data. A lot of research can be undertaken, and solar activities can be better understood, she said.
“India creates yet another landmark. India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches its destination. It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realising among the most complex and intricate space missions. I join the nation in applauding this extraordinary feat. We will continue to pursue new frontiers of science for the benefit of humanity,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
Durgesh Tripathi, professor from Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), who is the principal investigator of SUIT (Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope), one of the seven payloads on Aditya L1, told ET that the spacecraft’s journey so far had been uneventful. “It is now in the final orbit and now the regular science observations can start. Further developments will begin now. It is the second phase of the mission. This is the beginning of the new era of solar physics,” he said.