Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief S Somanath

Aditya L1 spacecraft, India's first space-based mission to study the Sun, is nearing its final phase, and maneuvers to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath.

"Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase," the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch.

He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft's entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.

"Possibly by January 7th, the final maneuvers will be done for entering into the L1 point," Somanath added.

Aditya L1 was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.

The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun.

Among other tasks, it will capture and transmit pictures of the Sun for scientific experiments.