ISRO Chandrayaan 2 moon mission launch HIGHLIGHTS: ISRO calls off launch, technical snag observed

Guru Prasad, ISRO PRO said, " Wait for sometime for the announcement."

#BreakingNews
Chandrayaan-2 countdown put on hold! Further communication from @isro awaited.#Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) July 14, 2019

ISRO all set to launch India’s second lunar probe

1 hour to go ! #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO
Watch the live telecast from 2:30 AM IST on our website https://t.co/7JSCOfe36a and on DD National.
Live streaming also available on:
Youtube: https://t.co/HCTiN8N3My, Facebook: https://t.co/CRR2We62Bn

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

Chandrayaan Lander: Named Vikram after Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, Father of the Indian Space Programme. The Vikram Lander has been designed to be able to communicate with the Indian Deep Satellite Network near Bengaluru, as well as with the Orbiter and Rover.  

Fueling of hydrogen into the rocket completed.

Filling of Liquid Hydrogen in Cryogenic stage of #GSLVMkIII-M1 completed.#Chandrayaan2 #ISRO
Stay tuned for more updates..

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

Chandrayaan-2 is attempting to go where no spacecraft has gone before — to the south pole of the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 will carry out extensive three-dimensional mapping of the topography of the region, and will also determine its elemental composition and seismic activity.

As countdown for Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar probe, and its first attempt to make a soft landing on the Moon begins, here are a few things that are likely to be discussed the most in the coming days. The Lander and Rover are scheduled to descend on September 6, more than 50 days after the launch early on Monday (July 15). Most of the other lander missions have taken considerably less time to reach the Moon.  read more 

Chandrayaan 2 which will attempt a first-ever soft landing for India on the lunar surface is being overseen by two space scientists Ritu Karidhal and Muthayya Vanitha. They both will be in charge of the mission’s main components: Project oversight and the crucial final phase of landing.  Read more 

Filling of liquid oxygen process completed, now fill of liquid hydrogen is in progress.

Filling of Liquid oxygen in cryogenic stage of #GSLVMkIII-M1 completed and filling of Liquid Hydrogen is in progress. #Chandrayaan2 #ISRO
Updates to continue..

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

Chandrayaan-2 is all set to take- off in a few hours. Vistors have already gathered outside Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Visitors gather outside Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota where #Chandrayaan2 is scheduled to be launched at 2:51 AM today. pic.twitter.com/ylKwbytxJB

— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2019

Filling of liquid qxygen in the cryogenic stage of GSLVMKIII-M1 commenced.

Filling of Liquid oxygen in cryogenic stage of #GSLVMkIII-M1 Commenced.#Chandrayaan2 #ISRO
Updates to continue..

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

With less than 3-hours for the launch of Chandrayaan-2, you can watch LIVE Streaming of the launch on ISRO's facebook page which will begin at 2:30 am. The live streaming will also be available on the official page of ISRO. The official website of ISRO will also be live streaming the launch of Chandrayaan-2 moon mission. To watch the live launch of Chandrayaan-2 on the official website of the space agency. 

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik present a sand art of India's mission to the moon, wishes best for to ISRO team

All the best team @isro ! For #Chandrayaan2 My SandArt at puri beach in Odisha . #JaiHo #GSLVMkIII pic.twitter.com/uaLP2cqQnL

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) July 14, 2019

Stage set for India's lunar mission #Chandrayaan2; launch at 2:51 am tomorrow; #PresidentKovind to witness the historic event from Sriharikota.https://t.co/IMmetH8TXa

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 14, 2019

We are less than five hours from the historic launch of #Chandrayaan2
Meanwhile observe people being dwarfed by the 14 storey high #GSLVMkIII-M1 vehicle. pic.twitter.com/o6fEK9AxlP

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

The voyage which will take 54 days to accomplish the task of landing on the Moon through meticulously planned orbital phases.

A Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit is 35,786 kilometers above Earth’s equator. Satellites meant for weather monitoring, communications and surveillance are placed in this orbit so as to match Earth’s rotation.

ISRO, which has planned for the landing around September 6, said the mission aims at going where no other nation has so far dared to go - the Lunar South Pole - and seek to improve understanding of the Moon which could lead to discoveries that will benefit India and humanity as a whole. The Chandrayaan-2 has 13 payloads in total with eight of them in the orbiter, three payloads in Vikram and two in Pragyan. Five payloads are from India, three from Europe, two from the US and one from Bulgaria.

Important components of the modules of India's ambitious second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, to be launched on Monday, have been manufactured by a Union government-run centre in Bhubaneswar, an official said on Sunday.

The Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC) has manufactured 22 types of valves for fuel injection and other parts for the cryogenic engine of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III rocket, dubbed "fat boy" by Indian scientists for its ability to carry satellites weighing up to 4 tonnes, a top official said.

The Bhubaneswar-based institution had started manufacturing the parts for the country's prestigious lunar mission in March 2017, the centre's Managing Director Sibasis Maity, told PTI in an interview. (PTI)

Chandrayaan 2's lander is called Vikram. It is designed to function for one lunar day which is equivalent to about 14 earth days. Here are a few other specifications of Vikram:

Payload Fairing: The nose-shaped cone used at the top of a spacecraft is called Payload Fairing. It used to protect the spacecraft against the atmospheric pressure and heating.

One of India's most important and prestigious space missions, #Chandrayaan2, is led by women, which also happens to be a first for @isro! Proud of our spacewomen.

To the moon!!!#GirlPower #ISRO #MissionMangal pic.twitter.com/06D223AeI3

— Baby Bedi (@sonakshisinha) July 14, 2019

Cryogenic Stage: A cryogenic stage/engine is the last stage of space launch vehicle. The engine develops a thrust of 200 kN in a vacuum and is operational for a duration of 640 seconds. It uses a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen as its fuel. Chandrayaan’s C25 engine is powered by CE-20, India’s largest cryogenic engine, designed and developed by ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.

India’s second space mission to the moon, #Chandrayaan2 is led by two women scientists of @isro , a first in India’s history! Sending my best to the rocket women and #ISRO team, more power to you! pic.twitter.com/AX6e8335YK

— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) July 14, 2019

The Moon is the closest cosmic body on which space discovery can be attempted and documented. It is also a promising test bed to demonstrate technologies required for deep-space missions. Chandrayaan 2 attempts to foster a new age of discovery, increase our understanding of space, stimulate the advancement of technology, promote global alliances, and inspire a future generation of explorers and scientists.

Liquid Stage: The second stage rocket, also dubbed as L110 liquid stage, is powered by two ‘Vikas’ engines designed and developed at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre. These engines carry about 110 tonnes of fuel (Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine + Dinitrogen tetroxide). These kinds of engines have been widely used by ISRO during various launches.

GSLV Mk III: Is a three-stage, heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons or solid rocket boosters, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.

Solid Rocket Boosters are large propellant motors that are used to provide additional thrust needed to during the launch process of a spacecraft. The additional thrust is needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth. The boosters, once launched, are separated from the external tank of the spacecraft at an altitude of approximately 45 km. They then descend on parachutes and are later refurbished for reuse.

Chandrayaan’s launcher uses two S200 solid rocket boosters to provide the necessary thrust required for lift-off. The S200 was developed at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Sriharikota.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO): A Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is a Geo or Earth-centered orbit is at an altitude of 2,000 km. Most of the satellites are sent in this orbit as it requires the lowest amount of energy and is cost-efficient. The International Space Station is also in LEO.

Former ISRO Chief, G Madhavan Nair said, Chandrayaan2 is going to be the most complex mission that the space agency has undertaken so far.

Former #ISRO Chief, G Madhavan Nair: #Chandrayaan2 is going to be the most complex mission that ISRO has undertaken so far. Scientifically, it is a follow on mission to confirm data from Chandrayaan-1. It is going to be a big motivator for the young scientific groups. pic.twitter.com/HdwyUNNmu1

— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2019

Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO): A Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit is 35,786 kilometers above Earth’s equator. Satellites meant for weather monitoring, communications and surveillance are placed in this orbit so as to match Earth’s rotation.

LANDER: Named after Vikram Sarabhai – the pioneer of India’s space programme, the Lander is a module that houses the Rover. After succesful landing on the lunar surface, it will deploy the Rover for conducting further experiments.

It is the first time that the ISRO is attempting to soft-land a module in extra-terrestrial space. Lander Vikram is designed to operate for 14 days (1 complete Lunar day). During this time, the 1,471 kg Lander which is capable of generating about 650 w of electricity will conduct its own experiments and will remain in constant communication with the IDSN.

With Chandrayaan-2, India will become only the fourth country to land a spacecraft on Moon.

The Orbiter and the Lander will be attached to the GSLV MK-III rocket, the launch vehicle that throttles Chandrayaan into space and towards the Moon’s orbit. Once within the moon’s orbit, the lander will detach itself from the 2,379 kg Orbiter in order to make a soft landing on the lunar surface. The Orbiter will continue to orbit around the moon and study its surface. The Orbiter contains a total of 8 instruments including Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2), Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini SAR) and Laser Retroreflector Array amongst others.

According to ISRO, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter will be capable of communicating with Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu (in Karnataka) as well as with the Lander.The mission life of the Orbiter is one year and it will be placed in a 100X100 km lunar polar orbit. Read more

Chandrayaan-1 itself marked the beginning of a new age for ISRO. That was the first time that an Indian spacecraft had ventured out of the low-earth orbit, and into outer space. But even as it set out to break new ground, ISRO was a little tentative, and circumspect about the launch of Chandrayaan-1. At that time, it had said its primary objective was just to “place an unmanned spacecraft in an orbit around the moon, to conduct mineralogical and chemical mapping of the lunar surface, and to upgrade the technological base in the country”.

That two instruments onboard Chandrayaan-1 would end up confirming the presence of water on the moon, something that had been speculated for close to 40 years but without ample evidence, was slightly unexpected, especially for those who liked to believe that the best that ISRO could hope for was to get into the also-ran category. It is now undisputed that the confirmation of the presence of water was the turning point in the exploration of the Moon, and triggered a renewed global interest in going back to the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission which had 11 payloads five from India, three from Europe, two from the US and one from Bulgaria. The first mission had the credit for the discovery of water on the lunar surface. The Chandrayaan-2 would be carried by the GSLVMkIII, dubbed ‘Fat Boy’ by Indian scientists for its ability to carry satellites weighing up to 4-tonnes.

Here's a shot of the Pragyan Rover before being integrated with the launch vehicle.

Here's a shot of the Pragyan Rover on the ramp of the Vikram Lander in clean room, prior to its integration with the launch vehicle. #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO pic.twitter.com/sMZ8enBSld

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

UH25 (fuel) filling of liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 completed

??#ISROMissions?? #Chandrayaan2
UH25 (fuel) filling of liquid core stage (L110) of #GSLVMkIII-M1 completed.
Updates will follow..

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

Here's some insight into the Chandrayaan-2 mission and its components.

Countdown for Chandrayaan-2 begins in Sriharikota

Click here for more pictures

The last decade has seen a renewed interest in the moon, especially after the discovery of water on the lunar surface by Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008. But it is only now, 50 years from the first landing on July 20, 1969, that humans have finally decided to go back to the moon. Read more

"The Moon is the closest cosmic body at which space discovery can be attempted and documented. It is also a promising test bed to demonstrate the technologies required for deep-space missions. Chandrayaan 2 attempts to foster a new age of discovery, increase our understanding of space, stimulate the advancement of technology, promote global alliances, and inspire a future generation of explorers and scientists," ISRO writes.

Chandrayaan-2, the Rs 1,000-crore mission, consists of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon. The space agency has named the Lander module Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai – the pioneer of India’s space programme – and the Rover module Pragyaan, meaning wisdom. Read more

Here's a close look at the Orbiter of Chandrayaan-2

??#ISROMissions??#Chandrayaan2#GSLVMkIII
Take a glimpse of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter in clean room. It carries 8 scientific payloads for mapping lunar surface and to study moon's atmosphere pic.twitter.com/IRYiTqRqcZ

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019

The moon has extremes of both hot and cold temperatures. Near its equator, daytime temperatures reach 120 degrees Celsius, while at night it is about -130 degrees Celsius. With such extreme temperatures, how do missions survive the lunar night? Read here

Launch countdown for the much-awaited Chandrayaan-2 mission begins.

??#ISROMissions??
The launch countdown of #GSLVMkIII-M1/#Chandrayaan-2 commenced today at 0651 Hrs IST. The launch is scheduled at 0251Hrs IST on July 15th.
More updates to follow...

— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019