Bengaluru: Chandrayaan-2, the second probe to the Moon, will set off on its 3,84,000 km voyage at 2.43pm on Monday, July 22, as the glitch onboard GSLV MkIII rocket, which halted the mission less than an hour ahead of the launch early on July 15, has been set right by the failure analysis committee headed by M. Annamalai, former director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Range.
On Thursday, Isro announced the revised schedule but scientists at the space agency said the week-long delay will be a blessing in disguise as the number of manoeuvers will be reduced during the probe’s journey to the Moon, while the date for touchdown of the lander ‘Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyan’ will remain as per the original schedule of September 6-7. The snag, in the critical cryogenic upper stage, was spotted and fixed by members of the FAC who worked round the clock after the announcement of a hold on the rocket’s flight 56.24 minutes before the blast off on July 15.
Scientists said the 20-hour countdown for the launch of Chandrayaan-2, scheduled to commence Sunday evening, will be preceded by a Mission Readiness Review (MRR) by the top brass of ISRO, on Saturday, July 20. The rocket’s lift-off has been moved from pre-dawn to mid-afternoon in order to match the Moon’s drift away from the earth between July 15 and July 22, scientists added.
Chandrayaan-2, described as “the most complex mission ever undertaken by Isro” by chairman Dr K. Sivan, will begin its journey to Moon16 minutes after blast off of GSLV MkIII on Monday afternoon.
