India Creates History With Successful Launch of Chandrayan-2

India’s Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle GSLV MkIII-M1, successfully launched the 3840 kg Chandrayaan-2
spacecraft into an earth orbit today. The spacecraft is now revolving round the
earth with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 169.7 km and an apogee (farthest
point to Earth) of 45,475 km. Today’s flight marks the first operational flight
of the GSLV Mk III.
After a smooth countdown lasting
20 hours, GSLV MkIII-M1 vehicle majestically lifted off from the Second Launch
Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh at the scheduled launch time of 1443 Hrs (2:43 pm) Indian Standard Time
(IST) with the ignition of its two S200 solid strap-on motors. All the
subsequent flight events occurred as scheduled.
About 16 minutes 14 seconds after
lift-off, the vehicle injected Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into an elliptical
earth orbit. Immediately after spacecraft separation from the vehicle, the
solar array of the spacecraft automatically got deployed and ISRO Telemetry,
Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru successfully took control of
the spacecraft.
ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan
congratulated the launch vehicle and satellite teams involved in this
challenging mission. “Today is a historical day for Space Science and Technology
in India. I am extremely happy to announce that GSLV MkIII-M1 successfully
injected Chandrayaan-2 into an orbit of 6000 Km more than the intended orbit
and is better.”
“Today is the beginning of the
historical journey of India towards Moon and to land at a place near South Pole
to carry out scientific experiments to explore the unexplored. On July 15, 2019
ISRO intelligently observed a technical snag, 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 right direction. Today ISRO bounced back with flying colours,” Dr. Sivan
said.
In the coming days, a series of
orbit manoeuvres will be carried out using Chandrayaan-2’s onboard propulsion
system. This will raise the spacecraft orbit in steps and then place it in the
Lunar Transfer Trajectory to enable the spacecraft to travel to the vicinity of
the Moon.
GSLV Mk III is a three-stage
launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core
liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage. The vehicle is designed to carry 4
ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10
tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Chandrayaan-2 is India's second
mission to the moon. It comprises a fully indigenous Orbiter, Lander (Vikram)
and Rover (Pragyan). The Rover Pragyan is housed inside Vikram lander.
The mission objective of
Chandrayaan-2 is to develop and demonstrate the key technologies for end-to-end
lunar mission capability, including soft-landing and roving on the lunar
surface. On the science front, this mission aims to further expand our
knowledge about the Moon through a detailed study of its topography,
mineralogy, surface chemical composition, thermo-physical characteristics and
atmosphere leading to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the
Moon.
After leaving earth orbit and on
entering Moon's sphere of influence, the on-board propulsion system of
Chandrayaan-2 will be fired to slow down the spacecraft. This will enable it to
be captured into a preliminary orbit around the Moon. Later, through a set of
manoeuvres, the orbit of Chandrayaan-2 around the moon will be circularised at
100 km height from the lunar surface.
Subsequently, the lander will
separate from the Orbiter and enters into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the
Moon. Then, it will perform a series of complex braking manoeuvers to soft land
in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.
Following this, the Rover will
roll out from the lander and carry out experiments on the lunar surface for a
period of 1 lunar day, which is equal to 14 Earth days. The mission life of the
lander is also 1 lunar day. The Orbiter will continue its mission for a
duration of one year.
The orbiter had a lift-off weight
of about 2,369 kg, while the lander and rover weighed 1,477 kg and 26 kg
respectively. The rover can travel up to 500 m (half a kilometre) and relies on
electric power generated by its solar panel for functioning.
Chandrayaan-2 has several science
payloads to facilitate a more detailed understanding of the origin and
evolution of the Moon. The Orbiter carries eight payloads, the lander carries
three, and the rover carries two. Besides, a passive experiment is included on
the lander. The Orbiter payloads will conduct remote-sensing observations from
a 100 km orbit while the Lander and Rover payloads will perform in-situ
measurements near the landing site.
The ground facilities constitute
the third vital element of Chandrayaan-2 mission. They perform the important
task of receiving the health information as well as the scientific data from
the spacecraft. They also transmit the radio commands to the spacecraft. The
Ground Segment of Chandrayaan-2 consists of Indian Deep Space Network,
Spacecraft Control Centre and Indian Space Science Data Centre.
Today’s successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 is a significant
milestone in this challenging mission. A total number of 7500 visitors
witnessed the launch live from the Viewer’s Gallery at Sriharikota.
Source:
PIB
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