Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) reported on Sunday that the third earth-bound manoeuvre of Aditya-L1, Indias first solar mission, was successfully completed. The satellite has moved into a new orbit that measures 296 km by 71767 km. During the satellites rotation around the Earth, five such orbital manoeuvres will be carried out, three of which have already been accomplished successfully.The post also motioned that the next is scheduled for September 15, 2023, at around 2 a.m. The Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC) of the space agency executed this operation.In a post on X, the space agency wrote, “The third Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#3) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. ISROs ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation. The new orbit attained is 296 km x 71767 km.”“The next manoeuvre (EBN#4) is scheduled for September 15, 2023, around 02:00 Hrs. IST,” ISRO said.Earlier, the second earth-bound manoeuvre was successfully performed on September 5, attaining an orbit of 282 km x 40225 km while the 1st was performed on 3 September.Aditya-L1 Mission:The third Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#3) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. ISROs ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation. The new orbit attained is 296 km x 71767 km.… pic.twitter.com/r9a8xwQ4My— ISRO (@isro) September 9, 2023What is Aditya-L1s main purposeAditya-L1, the first space-based observatory for India, will study the Sun from a halo orbit at the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L1), which is located roughly 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.The study of the physics of the solar corona and its heating mechanism, the acceleration of the solar wind, the coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, the distribution and temperature anisotropy of the solar wind, and the origin of CMEs, flares, and near-Earth space weather are some of the main goals of Indias solar mission.On September 5, the second earth-bound maneuver and on September 3, the first, both were successfully finished.These manoeuvres are deemed essential during the spacecrafts 16-day circumnavigation around Earth, enabling it to amass the necessary velocity for its onward journey to L1.Aditya-L1 is a satellite whose sole purpose is to study the sun in great detail and uncover previously undiscovered truths about it. A total of five maneuvers will be performed by the satellite over the course of its 16-day journey in Earth-bound orbits in order to increase its speed and get it to its final location.
