Bengaluru: India’s second mission to the Moon Chandrayaan-2, which was called off due to a technical snag, has been rescheduled for launch next Monday at 2:43 pm from Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Thursday.
On July 15, the Rs 976 crore mission, which would make India the fourth country to pull off a soft-landing on the moon after Russia, the US and China, was stopped 56 minutes and 24 seconds before lift-off at 1:55 am following a technical problem in its most powerful rocket.
Chandrayaan-2 launch, which was called off due to a technical snag on July 15, 2019, is now rescheduled at 2:43 pm IST on Monday, July 22, 2019. #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO
— ISRO (@isro) July 18, 2019
It thanked the public for their support, which it said “propels us (ISRO) forth, yet again. Reaching greater heights is part physics and part faith. Thank you for giving us more than enough of the latter!” ISRO wrote in a tweet.
Chandrayaan 2 is ready to take a billion dreams to the Moon — now stronger than ever before! Join us for the launch on Monday — 22 July, 2019 — at 2:43 PM IST.
#Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO pic.twitter.com/4ybFcHNkq6— ISRO (@isro) July 18, 2019
A senior ISRO official told NDTV that if the problem would not have been rectified earlier, Chandrayaan 2 would have been a “total failure”.
Several space scientists had even said the space agency must be appreciated for calling off the launch of rather than hurrying into a major disaster.
Media reports indicate that technical snag was in regards to a leak in the rocket’s indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine.
Also read: Don’t Let the Excitement Over Chandrayaan 2 Distract From the Bigger Picture
An ISRO official told NDTV, that highly flammable liquid hydrogen and oxygen used in the cryogenic stage were removed from the rocket to address the problem.
A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at 1 hour before the launch. As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later.
— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019
The rocket, officially known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (GSLV Mk 3), dubbed ‘Baahubali’ weighs 3,850 kg and is 44 metres long or as tall as a 15-storey building.
The satellite is supposed to explore the uncharted lunar south pole, eleven years after ISRO’s successful first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, which made more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon and was operational for 312 days till August 29, 2009.
Chandrayaan-2 will take 54 days to accomplish the task of landing on the Moon through meticulously planned orbital phases, ISRO has said.
ISRO had earlier scheduled the launch in the first week of January but shifted it to July 15.
(PTI)