Chandrayaan-2 moved into a higher orbit after firing its onboard propulsion system

This is the fourth time that Chandrayaan-2 has raised its orbit after being put in an Earth-bound elliptical orbit, 17 minutes after its launch on July 22.

By: Express News Service

Pune | Updated: August 3, 2019 05:55 PM IST

2 min read

Chandrayaan-2, on board the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-mark III-M1), was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22. (Source: AP/File)

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft moved into a higher orbit around the earth after firing its onboard propulsion system on Friday afternoon. This is the fourth time that the spacecraft has raised its orbit after being put in an Earth-bound elliptical orbit, 17 minutes after its launch on July 22.

Chandrayaan-2, India’s first lander mission to the moon, is now going around the Earth in an orbit that is 277 km from the Earth’s surface at the nearest point and 89,472 km at the furthest.

“All spacecraft parameters are normal,” ISRO said in a statement.

The spacecraft will raise its orbit once more, on August 6, before preparing to break free from the Earth and move towards the moon which will happen on August 14. The spacecraft will travel for six days before entering the lunar orbit on August 20.

The 3,850-kg three-module Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22 into an eliptical orbit around the Earth with the aim of landing a rover in the uncharted Lunar South Pole on September 7, marking a giant leap in the country’s space programme. The mission, if successful, will make India the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to make a soft landing on the moon.

— With PTI inputs

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