ISRO has successfully deployed the magnetometer boom on the Aditya-L1 satellite to detect the interplanetary magnetic field in orbit at low intensity. The six-meter-long magnetometer boom was deployed in the halo orbit at Lagrange point L-1 on January 11, according to the space agency, after being stored for 132 days since the Aditya-L1 launch.
ISRO has successfully installed a magnetometer boom on the Aditya-L1 spacecraft to investigate the low-intensity interplanetary magnetic field in orbit. The six-meter-long magnetometer boom was deployed in halo orbit at the Lagrange point L-1 on January 11, according to the space agency, after being stored for 132 days following the Aditya-L1 launch.
According to ISRO, the boom is equipped with two cutting-edge, high-accuracy fluxgate magnetometer sensors that measure the low-intensity interplanetary magnetic field in orbit. According to ISRO, the sensors are placed at a distance of 3 to 6 meters from the spacecraft’s body. Installing them at this distance minimizes the impact on measurements of the magnetic field generated by the spacecraft, and two of them “Using this method allows us to more correctly predict this effect. The twin-sensor system cancels out the spacecraft’s magnetic effect.
ISRO stated that the boom segments are made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and serve as interfaces for sensor mounting and mechanism components. It was reported that the articulated boom mechanism was made up of five parts joined by a spring-powered hinge mechanism that allowed for folding and deployment.
Aditya-L1, India’s first solar mission, reached the L1 point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth, on January 6, 127 days after its launch on September 2, 2023, allowing the spacecraft to constantly examine the Sun. The Solar Observatory on L1 aims to “Observe and understand the Sun’s chromospheric and coronal dynamics in a sustained manner.”
Read More: 57 Muslim Countries React to Ram Temple Construction: What’s Their Response?