Chandrayaan-2 modules getting ready for launch in July: ISRO
Bengaluru, May 1: All modules of India's second moon mission "Chandrayaan-2", scheduled for launch in July, are getting ready and the lander is expected to touch down on the lunar surface in early September, the ISRO said Wednesday.
"The launch window is from July 9 to July 16 with an expected Moon landing on September 6," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in an update on the mission, which was earlier scheduled for April launch.
An official of the space agency had last week said Chandrayaan-2 mission has been further postponed to July in the backdrop of Israel's unsuccessful attempt to land on Moon.
"We saw Israel's example and we don't want to take any risk. Despite Israel being such a technologically advanced country, the mission failed. We want the mission to be a success," he had said.
Earlier, Chandrayaan-2 was scheduled for launch in a window from January-February but ISRO had deferred it to March-April.
In its update Wednesday, the city-headquartered ISRO said the three modules -- Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) of Chandrayaan-2 were getting ready for July launch.
The Orbiter and Lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle. The Rover is housed inside the Lander, it said in a statement.
The integrated module will reach the moon orbit using Orbiter propulsion module after its launch into earth bound orbit by GSLV MK-III.
It might take 35 to 45 days to reach the Moon after the launch.
Subsequently, the lander will separate from the orbiter and soft land at the predetermined site close to lunar South Pole, the space agency said.
The rover will roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface. Instruments would also be mounted on the Lander and Orbiter for carrying out scientific experiments, it said.
The ISRO is cautious about Chandrayaan-2, its first mission to land on any celestial body, as it is wary of failure after Israel's Beresheet spacecraft crashed during moon landing on April 11.
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SWR announces special trains for passengers stranded by large-scale IndiGo cancellations
Bengaluru (PTI): The South Western Railway on Saturday announced a series of special trains, in coordination with Central, South Eastern and Southern Railways, to clear stranded passengers following large-scale IndiGo flight cancellations across the country.
The special services will operate between December 6 and 10 on high-demand routes, including Bengaluru–Chennai, Bengaluru–Pune, Yesvantpur–Hazrat Nizamuddin, Shalimar–Yelahanka and Ernakulam–Yelahanka, officials said.
According to an official statement, SWR will run Train No. 06255/06256 between Chennai Egmore and KSR Bengaluru, 06257/06258 between Bengaluru and MGR Chennai Central, 06259/06260 between Yesvantpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin, and 06263/06264 between Bengaluru and Pune.
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Central Railway will operate Train No. 01413/01414 between Pune and Bengaluru, while South Eastern Railway will run Train No. 08073/08074 between Shalimar and Yelahanka. Southern Railway will operate Train No. 06147/06148 between Ernakulam and Yelahanka, the statement said.
Railways has advised passengers to check updated timings on its official channels and arrive early at stations.
For at least five days in a row, IndiGo flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with a large number of cancellations and delays causing hardships to thousands of passengers. In many cases, baggage has been misplaced.
