ISRO gently steers Sun-study mission Aditya-L1, as it cruises to its destination

While speeding on an expressway in the cruise control mode, once in a while the driver has to intervene and steer the vehicle on its intended lane. Likewise, when travelling at a speed that measures several thousand kilometres per hour, it is necessary to gently steer a spacecraft to ensure it remains on the ideal path to its destination. The Indian space agency ISRO has just completed one such steering manoeuvre with its Aditya-L1 sun-study craft that is cruising towards its destination in interplanetary space.

Launched on September 2nd, India's Aditya-L1 craft is on a four-month voyage to its destination which is 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth. Known as the Lagrangian Point 1, it is situated at 1 per cent of the 150 million kilometre Earth-Sun distance. It is a safe vantage point from where spacecraft can have a constant view of the Sun and solar phenomena, while also being able to remain in touch with its controllers on earth.

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Once they attain a certain speed and orbital parameters, spacecrafts remain in the designated path or orbit, without having to expend any fuel. However, when there are slight deviations observed in their path, necessary steering corrections are performed by firing the craft's onboard engines.

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In an update on Sunday (October 8), the Indian Space agency ISRO said that the spacecraft is healthy and on its way to Sun-Earth L1. point. "A Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (steering adjustment), originally provisioned, was performed on October 6, 2023, for about 16 seconds. It was needed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre performed on September 19, 2023" ISRO said.

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This steering manoeuvre ensures that the spacecraft is on its intended path towards the Halo orbit insertion around L1.

At present, four operational spacecraft are stationed at the Sun-Earth L1 point. They provide vital early warnings on adverse space weather events, thereby protecting space assets and ground-based infrastructure. The four crafts are- NASA WIND (to observe the unperturbed solar wind before reaching the magnetosphere of Earth), NASA-ESA SOHO(Solar and Heliospheric Observatory- to study the sun and Heliosphere) NASA ACE(Advanced Composition Explorer - observe particles of the solar wind, and of galactic origins) and NASA DSCOVER (Deep Space Climate Observatory to Monitor space weather and climate, deep space Earth observation). In January 2024, Aditya-L1 is expected to join them, as India's representative in the L1 club.

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