STATE TIMES NEWS
SRIHARIKOTA: As the ISRO’s trusted workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle – Extended (PSLV-EL) launched India’s first Solar Mission, – Aditya L1 from Sriharikota Range today, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh described it as “sunshine moment for India”.
“While the whole world watched this with baited breath, it is indeed a sunshine moment for India,” he said, addressing ISRO scientists and engineers at the Mission Control Room soon after the PSLV-C57 ejected Aditya L1 around 1 pm IST.
“Indian scientists had been working, toiling day and night for years and years together. But now comes the moment of vindication, the moment of redeeming the pledge to the nation,” said Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology.
Dr Jitendra thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making this happen “by opening up new vistas for India’s space sector and telling us that sky is not the limit.”
“Thanks also PM for giving us the confidence, the courage and the conviction to reach out to the stars and to discover the mysteries of universe beyond. And thanks also for making us realise the enormous potential of our space fraternity,” he said.
“Coming close on the heels of successful Chandrayaan-3 landing, the successful launch of Aditya L1 is also a testimony to the ‘whole of science and the whole of nation’ approach in which we have sought to adopt in our world culture,” said Dr Jitendra. “While ISRO is credited in executing this vision, the science institutes across the country have come forward to contribute in one form or the other, in small way or big, to this vision. To name a few, – The Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, the National Aerospace Laboratories, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, the NGRI Nagpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Mumbai, and the list is too long,” he added.
Calling it as a team effort, Dr Jitendra termed the Aditya L1 launch as “a day of reckoning”.
“This day, the 2nd of September 2023, is a day of reckoning when we move on into the next 25 years of Amrit Kaal and Mother India pledges, with the collective will and collective effort of our 140 crore children, to reach and occupy the place of pride on the world pedestal,” he said.
Aditya L1 is the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun. Through various orbit raising manoeuvres and the cruise phase over about the next four months, the spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
