A European mission launched from India aimed to catch a rare glimpse of the Sun's mysterious atmosphere by mimicking a solar eclipse using two satellites flying with millimetre precision, AFP reports.
The European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission launched an Indian rocket from a launch pad on Sriharikota island at around 4:04 p.m. (local time), an online broadcast showed.
The separation of the rocket's third stage was greeted with cheers at mission control, according to the ESA broadcast.
The Indian Space Research Organisation wrote in an X that the PSLV-C59 rocket had "successfully ascended into the sky", hailing a "moment of pride" for India's space efforts.
The goal of the mission is to learn more about the sun's corona, the outermost part of its atmosphere that is not visible on Earth except during a total solar eclipse when the moon blocks out the light.
The half-ton spacecraft, which will soon enter Earth orbit, contains two satellites that will separate from each other early next year.
They will then line up about 150 yards apart so that one casts its shadow over the other.
In tandem and without guidance from Earth, the solar-powered satellites will embark on an extremely elliptical 19-hour orbit, turning toward the Sun about 60,000 kilometers from Earth.
One satellite has a 1.4-meter shield that will act as the moon's shield in blocking sunlight.
The other satellite will then be able to observe and measure the sun's corona from the shadow.
"While total eclipses on Earth last only minutes and happen only about 60 times a century, we hope that Proba-3 will be able to provide 10 to 12 hours of observations a week for two years," ESA said.
To achieve this feat, the two satellites will need to fly in formation at a level of precision never before seen in such a mission, according to ESA.
"We're aiming for millimetre-scale accuracy," ESA's Proba-3 project manager Damien Galano said at a recent press conference.
The launch of the 200 million euro ($210 million) mission was originally planned for December 4 but was delayed by a day due to a technical problem, ESA said. | BGNES
