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Chandrayaan-2 launch rehearsal completed, GSLV-Mk III rocket's performance normal: ISRO

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 GSLV Mark III-M1 rocket.

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ISRO said Saturday it has completed the launch rehearsal of GSLV Mark III-M1, the launch vehicle of Chandrayaan 2, and its performance is normal. 

After aborting the second Indian mission to Moon on July 15, an hour before the takeoff, ISRO has said "Chandrayaan 2 is ready to take a billion dreams to the Moon" on July 22.

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

The launch of the 3,850 kg Chandrayaan-2, a three-component spacecraft comprising an orbiter, lander and rover that would explore the unchartered lunar south pole, will now take place from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2.43 pm.

ISRO announced the new launch schedule on Thursday after scientists resolved the technical glitch in GSLV-MkIII-M1 rocket, dubbed 'Baahubali, that led to the aborting of the launch on July 15.

ISRO said remedial action had been taken based on the findings of a committee formed by it to analyse the cause of the glitch following which the rocket performance was 'normal'.

"The expert committee identified the root cause of the technical snag and all corrective actions are implemented. Thereafter, the system performance is normal", it said.

The update by the ISRO, however, did not elaborate on the glitch that had led to abrupt stoppage of the countdown with 56.24 minutes left for the blast-off at 2.51 am Monday.

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

Soon after the snag was noticed several scientists began working on identifying the cause, addressing the issue that temporarily halted the ambitious Rs 978 crore lunar mission.

The rescheduled launch would also be witnessed by nearly 5,000 people who will be accommodated at a viewing gallery, located a few kms from the launch pad, thrown open to the public by the ISRO in May last.

However, public wishing to view the launch have to register again for the July 22 lift-off, the ISRO said.

The launch of Chandryaan-2 had missed its date earlier too when it was fixed for the first week of January. But it was shifted to July 15.

The mission would explore the unchartered lunar south pole, 11 years after ISRO's successful first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 which scripted history by making more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon and was operational for 312 days till August 29, 2009.

Chandrayaan-2 will take 54 days to accomplish the task of landing on the Moon through meticulously planned orbital phases, ISRO has said.

Ahead of the July 15 aborted launch, the ISRO had said it was planning to make the soft landing of the lander - Vikram carrying rover 'Pragyan' - on September 6.

With the rescheduling of the launch, it is not clear when the soft landing will take place.

Billed as the most complex and prestigious mission undertaken by the ISRO since its inception, Chandrayaan-2 will make India the fourth country to soft land a rover on the lunar surface after Russia, the United States and China.

It will involve a series of critical manuovers to take the spacecraft to the Moon's orbit first and then make the soft landing.

(With PTI inputs)

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