"This is like a dream coming true": Project director of Aditya-L1

SRIHARIKOTA: Addressing fellow scientists at ISRO to cheers and claps after the successful launch of the country's first solar mission — Aditya L1 — Nigar Shaji, the director of the project, said on Saturday that it was like a dream coming true.

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Shaji said, "It feels like a dream coming true. I am extremely happy that Aditya L-1 has been injected successfully (into the designated orbit) by the PSLV. Aditya L-1 has successfully embarked on its 125-day journey."

"As and when the Aditya L-1 fulfills all its mission objectives, it will be an asset for the country as well the global scientific community. I want to thank the entire (ISRO) team for their support and guidance in making this mission possible," the project director of the Aditya L1 mission added.

Earlier, on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation said the payload covering the Aditya L1 spacecraft was separated as it left Earth's atmosphere following its successful launch from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

"The third stage of the separation of PSLV carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter has been completed," as per ISRO.

"The launch of Aditya-L1 by PSLV-C57 is accomplished successfully," it added.

The vehicle has placed the satellite precisely into its intended orbit, the agency said, adding that the country's first solar observatory has begun its journey to its destination — the L1 point which lies between the Earth and the Sun.

The PSLV-C57.1 rocket, carrying the Aditya-L1 payloads, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 11.50 am on Saturday.

The Aditya-L1 mission is expected to reach the observation point in four months. It will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun.

The successful launch of ISRO’s maiden solar mission came on the heels of the historic lunar landing mission — Chandrayaan-3.