Aditya-L1 completes its first 178 days orbit around Lagrangian Point

Aditya-L1 spacecraft has completed its first halo orbit around the Surya -Prithvi  L1 point. The Aditya-L1 mission is the  Indian solar observatory at Lagrangian point L1, launched on September 2, 2023 and was inserted in its targeted halo orbit on January 6, 2024. Aditya-L1 spacecraft in the Halo orbit takes 178 days to complete a revolution around the L1 point.

During its travel in the halo orbit, Aditya-L1 spacecraft was   subjected to various perturbing forces  causing  it to depart from the targeted orbit. It underwent two station-keeping manoeuvres on February 22 and June 7, respectively, to maintain this orbit. Today’s 3rd station-keeping manoeuvre has ensured that its travel continued in to the second halo orbit path around L1.

This journey of Aditya-L1 around Surya -Prithvi L1 Lagrangian point involves   complex dynamics. The understanding of various perturbing forces acting on the spacecraft helped in determining the trajectory accurately and planning precise orbit manoeuvres. With today’s manoeuvre, the state-of-the-art flight dynamics software developed in-house at URSC-ISRO for the Aditya-L1 missions stands fully validated.