It was built at cost of Rs 400 crore...
Indian Space Research Organization’s Aditya-L1, India's first mission to study sun, is set to reach its final destination orbit on Saturday after over four months from its launch day.
At around 4pm the satellite is expected to be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point (L1). This point was chosen for its advantageous position that can be used to view the sun continuously.
"This man oeuvre (at around 4 pm on Saturday) will bind the Aditya-L1 to a halo orbit around L1. If we don't do this, there is a possibility that it will continue its journey, maybe towards the Sun," an ISRO official said.
The space observatory will keep an eye on the changing space weather and warn scientists about unfavorable changes including solar storms and flares that may impact the working of satellites. A solar storm is a large-scale magnetic eruption on the Sun, which can affect the entire solar system.
"Since Aditya-L1 will look at Sun continuously, it can warn us of imminent solar electro-magnetic effects on Earth and protect our satellites, and other power electrical and communications networks from getting disrupted. This will help continue normal operations by operating them in safe modes, till the solar storm passes by," ISRO Chairman S Somanath had told.
Mr Somnath said that India has assets worth over ₹ 50,000 crores in space including over 50 operational satellites that need to be protected against the wrath of the Sun.
The Aditya-L1 satellite, carrying seven payloads, will also conduct scientific experiments to better understand the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic, particle and magnetic field detectors.V.
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