Chandrayaan-2 launch highlights: Isro chief hails historic day for India

Chandrayaan-2 mission: Filling of Liquid Oxygen in cryogenic stage(C25) of GSLV MkIII-M1 Completed. Catch LIVE update's on India's mission to the moon

5:12 PM

India joins elite space club

China, Russia and the United States are the only other nations to have sent missions to the moon. If successful, the less-than Rs 1000 crore mission will allow Isro scientists to carry out studies regarding the presence of water at the moon's south pole, unexplored by any other nation before. The space agency suspects the south pole region of the moon contains water in the form of ice as well as craters that could reveal fossilized information about the early solar system, reports Reuters.

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​Short timeline of the Chandrayaan-2 mission:

September 18, 2008 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approves the Chandrayaan 2 lunar mission

Launch - July ​22, 2019

Landing on the moon - September 6​/7​, 2019

Scientific experiment on moon one lunar day (14 earth days)

Orbital Experiment - Will be operational for one year​

4:18 PM

#Chandrayaan2 is the top Twitter trend in India

4:04 PM

India's space mission aims beyond the Moon

India plans to send a mission to study the sun next year, another to Venus three years later, and eventually establish its own space station. It is also working on a $1.4 billion Gaganyaan mission, which aims to put three Indian “gaganauts” -- at least one of which will be a woman -- into orbit. The nation, which sent an orbiter to Mars at about a 10th of the cost of NASA’s Maven probe, launched a record 104 satellites in 2017, reports Bloomberg.

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Narendra Modi hails launch of Moon mission

The launch of Chandrayaan-2 illustrates the "prowess" of India's scientists and the "determination" of its citizens, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

3:34 PM

'Mantle now with Isro's satellite team'

Isro's satellite team will undertake 15 "crucial maneuvers” on Chandrayaan-2 in the next 1.5 months: Sivan. "The mantle is given to the satellite team."

3:30 PM

Isro burned the midnight oil: Sivan

For the past 1.5 years the satellite team burned the "midnight oil" to realise the launch of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft: Space mission chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan

3:19 PM

Parliament gets news of Moon mission launch

Speaker Om Birla announces launch of Chandrayaan-2 to the Lok Sabha. Vice president Venkaiah Naidu makes the announcement in the Rajya Sabha.

3:13 PM

Indian flag flies high: Isro

Chandrayaan-2 launch is "excellent". Isro team will make sure Indian flag flies high: Space mission chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan

3:09 PM

Isro chief says launch successful

Isro chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan says Chandrayaan-2 has been launched successfully. "Isro has bounced back with flying colours after serious technical snag,” says Sivan, referring to the last-minute rescheduling of the Moon mission on July 15. 

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India's heaviest rocket GSLV Mk-III, nicknamed 'Bahubali', lifted off successfully from Sriharikota on July 22. The rocket, which is carrying the Chandrayaan-2 mission, was originally planned to lift off on July 15. 

2:45 PM

GSLV Mk-III lift-off normal

2:43 PM

Chandrayaan-2: Isro's moon mission launched from Sriharikota

Chandrayaan-2: India's journey to the moon begins

2:41 PM

Two minutes to go for Chandrayaan-2 launch

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Chandrayaan-2: 10 minutes to go for India's journey to the moon!

2:29 PM

Mission Director has authorized the launch of Chandrayaan 2

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ISRO to launch Chandrayaan-2 from Sriharikota

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I'm doubly confident this time, says Isro chief

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1:44 PM

Filling of Liquid Hydrogen in Cryogenic Stage(C25) of GSLVMkIII-M1 completed

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Experts say Chandrayaan-2 delay on July 15 was pre-emptive, mission not a failure

The launch of India’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, was called off on July 15. 

 

"While it is speculative to comment on the nature of the snag, the GSLV on-board systems worked well to detect it in time, before launch, proving it is a robust launch vehicle. Prevention is better than loss and the decision to postpone the launch was correct. India has invested considerable time and resources on Chandrayaan-2 and we cannot take any chances in such a momentous mission," said Ratan Shrivastava, an Independent Aerospace & Defence consultant, ex Advisor, Space Division, Ficci and ex-Practice Director, Aerospace & Defence Consulting, Frost & Sullivan (Asia–Pacific).

1:25 PM

Here's different view of GSLVMkIII-M1

1:24 PM

Chandrayaan-2: Do you know what is the distance of Moon from Earth?

As our journey begins, do you know what is the distance of Moon from Earth? The average distance is 3, 84, 000 km, Vikram lander will land on Moon on the 48th day of the mission, which begins today.

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Chandrayaan-2: Less than two hours to go for the launch