Delhi:
ISRO’s stunning launch of the Chandrayaan-2 proved that nothing comes in way of solid determination. India and the world watched with bated breath the majestic lift-off of the powerful rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 for the spaceport Sriharikota. ISRO boss K Sivan’s emotional thank you speech was the testament of sheer hard work that has gone in making of the dream called Chandrayaan-2. Shortly after the launch, ISRO released a spectacular footage of the lift-off from the space which was captured by the Baahubali’s onboard cameras. The 2 minute 25 second long clip shows the very moment of the lift-off. The space enthusiast will love the twin camera footage that shows blast-off and the rocket separation.
#ISRO
— ISRO (@isro) July 22, 2019
Look what the camera onboard #GSLVMkIII-M1 captured https://t.co/cNfEm7PyNz#Chandrayaan2
The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle lifted-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre into cloudy skies at 2.43 pm and successfully placed the 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2 into the earth orbit 16 minutes and 14 seconds later. According to a statement by the Indian Space Research Organisation, Chandrayaan-2, a three-module spacecraft comprising orbiter, lander and rover, will be subjected to a series of orbit manoeuvres using its onboard propulsion system to take it to the vicinity of Moon over the next weeks with the rover soft landing planned on September 7.
The Rs 978 crore mission was called off on July 15 barely an hour before the lift-off after the scientists noticed a glitch in the three-stage rocket during the propellant filling phase. However, after quick remedial action it was rescheduled for Monday and launched successfully.
"We bounced back in flying colours after the earlier technical snag. Success is coming after a hollow," K Sivan said crediting the entire Team ISRO for the success. "Immediately after the technical snag was observed in an intelligent way one week back, the entire team swung into action. The work done in the next 24 hours to bring the vehicle back to normal was mind-boggling," he said.
Crediting the Chandrayaan-2 team for "burning midnight oil" in the last one-and-a half years, he said it was his duty to "salute" all of them who have worked for the mission's success. Sivan expressed hope the space agency would work together, as always, for the missions in the pipeline, including Cartosat 3.
