One week after a “technical snag” forced the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to delay the launch of its Chandrayaan-2, the lunar mission launched today. Chandrayaan-2 was launched at 14:43 local time (09:13 GMT) from the Sriharikota space station. India’s space chief said his agency had “bounced back with flying colours” after the aborted first attempt.
It’s still unclear why ISRO decided to postpone the launch — a decision made just an hour before Chandrayann-2 was scheduled to lift off on July 15th. But the organization tweeted that it was “a measure of abundant precaution.” In a statement, ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan said, “Team ISRO worked out, fixed and corrected the snag within 24 hours. For the next one and a half day, the required tests were conducted to ensure that corrections made were proper and in [the] right direction.”
#ISRO
Here's a view of the majestic lift-off of #GSLVMkIII-M1 carrying #Chandrayaan2 pic.twitter.com/z1ZTrSnAfH— ISRO (@isro) July 22, 2019
For the first time in India’s space history, an interplanetary expedition is being led by two women – Muthaya Vanitha, the project director, and Ritu Karidhal, the mission director. It is the most complex mission ever attempted by India’s space agency. “It is the beginning of a historical journey of India towards the moon,” said Isro chief K Sivan in a speech after the launch. He thanked and congratulated the nearly 1,000 scientists, engineers and other staff who had worked on the mission: “It is my duty to salute all the people who have done the work.”
Chandrayaan-2 will spend 23 days in the Earth’s orbit before it begins maneuvering towards its lunar landing. It’s expected to touch down on the surface of the Moon on September 7th one day after it was originally scheduled to arrive. Once there, the Pragyan rover will study the chemistry, seismography and topography. It will also give India’s space program an important boost the country plans to launch a space station by 2030.
