In a very historic moment, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched the country's first Observatory Class Solar Expedition – Aditya-L1. This comes just days after India became the first nation to land on the Moon's South Pole, thanks to the Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Mission. And now, India has successfully launched the Aditya-L1 Solar Mission, which is all set to etch its name once again in the history books. It is the first of its kind that will space-wise orbit the solar disk in the Sun's closest UV band.

At exactly 11:50 AM IST today, the 25th PSLV-XL rocket, PSLV-C57 blasted off the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center SHAR (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota, carrying the Aditya-L1 Observatory Class Satellite on board. The rocket soared high into the bright daytime sky, leaving behind a trail of thick white vapors. According to the ISRO Control Mission, the liftoff took place as expected with all vital signals from the PSLV-C57 rocket as normal.

In 53 seconds, the rocket successfully covered the intended altitude of 185 kilometers with the second and third stages of the PSLV rocket successfully separating. At 12:11 AM IST, the Aditya-L1 solar mission was able to enter its intended PS4 rollout phase. And this is just the beginning! With an estimated journey of four months, the Aditya-L1 Solar Mission is expected to be one of ISRO's longest.

Also, it will take the PSLV-C57 rocket around 63 minutes from launch to Aditya-L1 launch point and it will take another 10 minutes to successfully reach the passivation of the fourth stage. This makes the entire launch approximately 73 minutes. According to Aditya-L1's flyby, ISRO Mission Control will help shut down the rocket twice in the fourth stage to allow it to slowly travel along its intended trajectory for about 30 minutes (first for about 26 minutes and then for another 3 more 4 minutes).