Chandrayaan-2: Launch rehearsal completed successfully, says ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Saturday it has completed the launch rehearsal of GSLV Mark III-M1, the launch vehicle of Chandrayaan 2, and its performance is normal. Chandrayaan-2 mission will be launched at 2:43 pm on July 22. The space agency said that the glitch, because of which the July 15 launch was aborted, has been fixed. 

After aborting the second Indian mission to Moon, an hour before the take-off, ISRO has said it would go ahead with the mission on July 22.

"Launch rehearsal of #GSLVMkIII-M1 / #Chandrayaan2 mission completed, performance normal #ISRO," it said.

Earlier, former ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said that the Chandrayaan-2 mission is ready to be launched on July 22.

"Chandrayaan-2 is now ready for launch on 22 July. We intend to move towards the moon on August 14 and land on the moon around September 6. All the activities are in full swing and we are getting ready for the event on July 22," AS Kiran Kumar said.

The launch of Chandrayaan 2, aimed at landing a rover on the unexplored Lunar South Pole, was aborted early on July 15 due to a "technical snag" in the rocket.

The snag had occurred when the liquid propellant was being loaded into the rocket's indigenous cryogenic upper-stage engine.

Veteran scientists had heaped praise on ISRO for calling off the launch rather hurrying into a major disaster.

With Agency Inputs