- Aditya L1 lifts-off from ISRO facility at 11.50 am
- Launched by reliable PSLV C 57
SRIHARIKOTA, (AP), September 2. India on Saturday joined a select club of countries with the successful launch of its solar mission, Aditya L1. Exactly at the scheduled hour, 1150 hours the PSLV C57 rocket lifted off leaving behind an orange plume much to the delight of the mission staff and spectators at the ISRO facility here.
The Aditya L1 Mission is India’s first-space based observatory which will study the Sun after travelling nearly 1.5 million kilometers from Earth over the next 125 days. The spacecraft is scheduled to be placed in the Halo orbit around point L1, considered closest to the Sun.
Close on the heels of the successful landing of its lunar vehicle Vikram on the surface of moon, ISRO added yet another feather in its rich plume of hat. To make the occasion special, the Indian space agency invited people to register themselves on its website and witness in person, history in the making.
The entire lift-off sequence was also witnessed by countless people on the television to watch the satellite’s launch, its progress on the journey upwards to space and separation of its four stages of rocket. The Mission was launched on ISRO’s reliable workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It was the 59th flight of PSLV ad 25th mission using configuration, PSLV-XL
The Mission envisages onward journey to the designated spot in orbit to study the dynamics of Sun’s energy, in unclouded splendor or even air coming in between from the point called Lagrange. Indsia will be the third observatory at this point with the other two being from the United States space agency, NASA.
ISRO Chairman S Somanath declared the Mission as successful after Aditya was injected into the desired orbit 235 km above Earth. ISRO said the spacecraft was following a predicted path and communicating with its spaceport and ship-borne tracking stations. Aditya is a multi-wavelength, multi-instruments and multi-directional spacecraft.
India’s solar mission is the country’s maiden attempt to study the Sun, its energy and flares and joined a select club of countries like the United States, Japan and European Space Agency, which have undertaken such missions by sending probes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the achievement. Congratulating the space scientists, he said “Our tireless efforts will continue in order to develop better understanding of the Universe for the welfare of the entire humanity.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah too took to X (previously Twitter) to state that time and again Indian scientists have proved their might and brilliance. “The nation is proud and delighted over the successful launch of Aditya L1…Kudos to the team @isro for this unparalleled accomplishment. It is a giant stride towards fulfilling PM @narendramodi Ji’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat in the space sector during the Amrit Kaal”.
