145;Our baby146;s on its way!146;

8220;Our baby is on the way to the moon,8221; mission director Mylswamy Annadurai said after the satellite was injected into the transfer orbit with a perigee nearest point of about 250 km and apogee farthest point of about 23,000 km about 19 minutes after the launch.

8220;Today, what we have started is a remarkable journey for the Indian space craft to go to the moon and try to unravel its mysteries,8221; Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair said in his address to the nation.

8220;This was the first leg of the journey, and perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the journey, which has been completed successfully,8221; he added.

Chandrayaan I is carrying the Indian flag which will be planted on the lunar surface when the Moon Impactor Probe lands. Once the mission is complete, India will join the very exclusive club of nations with the capacity to make lunar journeys, alongside the US, the erstwhile USSR, the European Space Agency, Japan and China.

Wednesday8217;s launch window was only 15 minutes long: had the rocket failed to lift off, the operation would have had to be postponed. But the heavy rain of the past several days weakened to drizzle at just the right time.

About a decade ago, when ISRO first suggested a journey to the moon, both its purpose and capability were doubted. On Wednesday, Madhavan Nair announced an expansion of the frontiers of ISRO8217;s ambition: a rover on the moon aboard Chandrayaan II by 2009 or 2010, a manned Indian mission in space by 2015, a mission to Mars, and an Indian on the moon.

As soon as it became apparent that PSLV was on course, mission control broke out into loud cheers, hugs and handshakes. 8220;The last few days have really been an ordeal,8221; Nair said, referring to the relentless rain, 8220;but we worked against all odds, and the team has won the game8221;.

Nair expressed his emotions in enthusiastic thumbs ups, others were altogether more direct and emotional. 8220;Words don8217;t come; we could not have asked for more,8221; said George Koshy, director of the launch vehicle.

Chandrayaan I is now orbiting the Earth, and will in the coming days, 8220;nudged and manoeuvred8221; towards the moon, the first time that an Indian spacecraft will leave the Earth8217;s gravitational field. A 32-metre wide antenna at the ground-based Indian Deep Space Network near Bangalore will track Chandrayaan I and provide the data that will enable scientists to decide on the time to the fire the apogee motor that will raise the orbit in steps before the final nudge to push it to the lunar trajectory.

All of this is not going to be easy. The craft and the ground station will have to factor in the influence of the Sun, Moon and other celestial bodies on the craft, and 8220;several uncertainties and unknowns8221;. If all goes well, Chandrayaan I will settle into a constant altitude of about 100 km above the surface of the Moon by November 8.

Once it reaches the right height, Chandrayaan I will release a moon impact probe MIP with an altimeter, camera and mass spectrometer that will relay data about the descent to the Moon, and the nature of its surface.

This data will ultimately pave the way for the soft landing of the rover that Chandrayaan II is scheduled to take to the Moon, and eventually, sometime in the future, an Indian astronaut.

Over its two-year mission, Chandrayaan I will carry out an exploration of the Moon in unprecedented detail. The 11 scientific payloads, including two from the U S, two from the European Space Agency and one from Bulgaria, will chart the map of the moon, and look for traces of water and the presence of Helium 3, thought to be the future of energy production.

If the mission is successful, 8220;we will have a total map of the moon in the hands of the scientists of our country, a national asset,8221; Nair said.

The world sat up and took notice of India8217;s space feat.

Democratic presidential nominee and the favourite to be the next President of the United States, Barack Obama, referred to the successful launch of Chandrayaan I to drive home the need for the U S to keep after its technological goals.

8220;8221;With India8217;s launch of its first unmanned lunar spacecraft following closely on the heels of China8217;s first spacewalk, we are reminded just how urgently the United States must revitalise its space programme if we are to remain the undisputed leader in space, science, and technology8230; We must not only retain our space workforce so that we don8217;t let other countries surpass our technical capabilities; we must train new scientists and engineers for the next generation,8221; Obama said in a statement posted on SpaceRef.com.

Asked for a comment, White House spokesperson Dana Perino said, 8220;I haven8217;t spoken to the president about it. I saw that story. It was very interesting. We noted it. It8217;s very encouraging for India, I8217;m sure very exciting.8221;

Michael Griffin, administrator of NASA, the American space agency, said, 8220;Congratulations to our Indian colleagues on the successful launch of the Chandrayaan I spacecraft, which is carrying two NASA instruments8230; India8217;s first lunar mission will provide important insights into the lunar environment including data that will help support NASA8217;s ongoing efforts to return humans to the moon.8221;

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Hamid Ansari sent out congratulatory messages to ISRO. BJP leaders L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former President A P J Abdul Kalam, and several chief ministers hailed the successful launch.