IN A milestone in the development of space astronomy in India, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) has built the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), the largest payload that would fly on Aditya L1, the country’s first dedicated scientific mission to study the Sun. It is expected to be launched by ISRO by middle of this year.

The VELC payload would be formally handed over to ISRO Chairman S Somanath at IIA’s CREST campus on Thursday. “It’s a milestone in the development of space astronomy in India,” an IIA official said. Aditya L1 is the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun from a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L 1) of the Sun-Earth system.

This mission with seven payloads on board to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) will provide greater advantage of observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather, according to officials of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

VELC, which the IIA has built at its CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology) campus at Hosakote near here, is the largest and one of the most technically challenging of the seven payloads/telescopes that will fly on Aditya L1. “The scientific studies by the satellite will enhance our current understanding of the Solar Corona and also provide vital data for space weather studies”, ISRO officials said.