Aditya L1 successfully separates from PSLV, proceeds to Sun on 125 day voyage: ISRO Hyderabad:Aditya L1 has successfully separated from the PSLV rocket, said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath, nearly a couple of hours after the successful blastoff from Sriharikata Spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, on Saturday.
The ISRO chief said the spacecraft was injected in the "precise orbit".
Somanath congratulated all the scientists who have contributed the successful blast off of India's maiden space based scientific observatory solar mission.
Somanath who led the launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre - SDSC (formerly known as Sriharikota Range - SHAR) individually shook hands with the scientists who were manning the operations.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh who was there to witness the successful liftoff of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying Aditya-L1 from here at 11.50 am.
"Aditya L1 spacecraft has been injected in an elliptical orbit of 235 by 19,500 km which is intended, very precisely by the PSLV," he said.
"From now on Aditya L1 will go on a long journey for 125 days," towards the Sun, he said from the Mission Control Center here, flanked by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Project Director Nigar Shaji and Mission Director Biju.
"The launch of Aditya-L1 by PSLV-C57 is accomplished successfully. The vehicle has placed the satellite precisely into its intended orbit. India’s first solar observatory has begun its journey to the destination of Sun-Earth L1 point," the ISRO announced in its social media handle in X.
Shaji said the spacecraft was injected into the orbit flawlessly by the PSLV "as always," and that the solar panels are deployed. "Aditya L1 has started 125 days of long journey to the Sun," she said.
Union Minister Singh, described today's achievement as a "sunshine moment," and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the support to the space sector.
The Sun is a giant sphere of gas and Aditya-L1 would study its outer atmosphere. Aditya-L1 will neither land on the Sun nor approach it any closer, ISRO said.
It is expected to travel for about 125 days to reach the Halo orbit around the Lagrangian Point L1, which is considered closest to the sun.
Aditya-L1, weighing about 1,480.7 kg, is the first space-based observatory class to study the Sun.
Also read- Nothing more satisfying than being at helm of a prestigious project: Project Director Aditya L-1 Nigar Shaji
Also read- ISRO's Chandrayaan missions will be made part of Uttarakhand's school curriculum: Minister
