Countdown for Chandrayaan-2 lift-off progressing smoothly
Chennai, July 14: The 20-hour countdown for the July 15 early morning lift-off of India''s heavy rocket nicknamed ''Bahubali'' carrying the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft is progressing smoothly, Indian space agency officials said.
"The countdown began at 6.51 a.m. on Sunday," K. Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told.
Standing at about 44 metre tall, the 640-tonne rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) is nicknamed ''Bahubali''. And just like the hero in the hit film by the same name lifted a heavy ''lingam'', the rocket will carry the 3.8 tonne Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft.
About 16 minutes into its flight, the Rs 375 crore GSLV-Mk III rocket is expected to sling the Rs 603 crore Chandrayaan-2 into an Earth parking 170x40,400 km orbit.
From there, it will be a long journey to the moon for the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft carrying a lander called Vikram and a rover known as Pragyan.
The distance between the Earth and the moon is about 3.844 lakh km.
On September 6, the lander Vikram is expected to make a soft landing on the moon and then the rover Pragyan will roll out to carry out in-situ experiments.
During the countdown, the rocket and the spacecraft''s systems will undergo checks and fuel will be filled to power the rocket engines.
According to ISRO, filling of the liquid fuel in the Liquid Core Stage has been completed on Sunday.
GSLV-Mk III is designed to carry 4 tonne class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tonne to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of GSLV Mk II.
The vehicle has two solid strap-on motors, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.
To date, ISRO has sent up three GSLV-Mk III rockets.
The first one was on December 18, 2014, carrying the Crew Module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment. The second and third GSLV-Mk III went up on February 5, 2017 and November 14, 2018, carrying communication satellites GSAT-19 and GSAT-29, respectively.
Interestingly, GSLV-Mk III will also be used for India''s manned space mission slated in 2022.
12 hours to go...For the launch of #Chandrayaan2 onboard #GSLVMkIII-M1
— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019
Stay tuned for more updates... pic.twitter.com/yEmkmaJ9a1
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Vijay unable to prove majority, not invited for CM oath ceremony: Sources
Chennai: Actor-politician Vijay has reportedly not been invited to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after failing to demonstrate support from the required number of MLAs, sources in Raj Bhavan said.
According to media reports that quoted sources in the office of R.N. Ravi Arlekar, Vijay could not prove the backing of 118 legislators, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Despite last-minute efforts to secure support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK), and an IUML legislator, Vijay reportedly managed support from only 116 MLAs, falling short by two members.
Sources said Vijay failed to submit letters of support from the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Later, the IUML issued a statement clarifying that it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.
Meanwhile, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran is also said to have informed the Governor that his party would support the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) instead.
Earlier in the evening, Vijay had met Governor Arlekar and staked claim to form the government, stating that he enjoyed the support of 118 MLAs.
