Chandrayaan 2 Launch on 22 July After Snag Delayed First Attempt

This comes after the 15 July launch of the second mission to the moon was cancelled due to technical snag.

ISRO’s GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle rests at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The GSLV Mk III will carry Chandrayaan 2, India’s second moon mission.

(Photo: PTI)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday, 18 July, announced that the country’s second Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2 will be launched at 2:43 am on Monday, 22 July, after the first attempt was delayed due to a technical snag in the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle.

The space agency’s announcement has put an end to speculations about the launch. There were reports that it might be as early as 16 July, the next day of the initial launch date (K Sivan had hinted in an interview to NDTV), while some were saying that it will be delayed till the next launch window, which will occur in September.

A launch window, in this context is enough time to ensure a full 14 Earth days for the lander and the rover on the moon.

The current launch window, according to ISRO, lasts till 31 July. The current date, 22 July, falls under the launch window.

Although ISRO has not given the exact issue that occurred with the GSLV launch vehicle, scientists have been quoted in reports as saying that it might have been due to a leak in the helium bottle of the cyrogenic engine of the GSLV Mk-III rocket.