Destination Moon: Chandrayaan-3 leaves Earth's orbit
Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO on Tuesday said India's third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 has completed its orbits around the Earth and is now heading towards the Moon.
A key manoeuvre to slingshot the spacecraft towards the Moon from Earth's orbit was carried out in the early hours of Tuesday. This move put Chandrayaan-3 in a translunar orbit moving it out of the Earth's orbit and closing in on the Moon's orbit. In around five days from now, the spacecraft will reach the Moon's orbit.
The slingshot was performed by ISRO scientists who, from the space centre here, fired Chandrayaan-3's onboard thrusters when the spacecraft was at the closest point to Earth (perigee).
"A successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network). ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit," it said.
"Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbits around the Earth and heads towards the moon," the national space agency said, adding, "Next stop: the moon."
"As it arrives at the moon, the Lunar-Orbit Insertion is planned for August 5, 2023," ISRO said.
An ISRO official told PTI that following the translunar injection, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft escaped from orbiting the Earth and is now following a path that would take it to the vicinity of the Moon. The ISRO had said it would attempt soft-landing on the lunar surface on August 23.
The spacecraft's orbit was progressively increased five times after the Chandrayaan-3 mission to Moon was launched on July 14.
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Hilal Ahmad the first Indian to fly Rafale played key role in Operation Sindoor: Reports
New Delhi: Air Vice Chief Marshal, Hilal Ahmad, a Kashmiri Muslim from Anantnag according to a Mathrubhumi report has played a very important role in the Operation Sindhoor conducted by Indian Armed Forces launching precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Wednesday.
Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad was India’s Air Attaché to France. Ahmad became India's first pilot to see off the batch of Rafale jets from France to India on July 27, 2020. Reports also suggest that he played a crucial part in early delivery of the Rafales, and has closely supervised the delivery schedule, weaponization, and customization of the Rafale jets to align with Indian operational needs.
A veteran officer with over 3,000 hours of accident-free flying, Ahmad has flown frontline combat aircraft like the Mirage 2000 and MiG-21. He gained widespread recognition as India’s first pilot to fly the Rafale jet and was instrumental in the aircraft's early induction into the Indian Air Force.
Although Ahmed is best known for his role in the Rafale program, his impact goes far beyond aircraft development. Through his leadership, he has played a crucial role in modernizing the Indian Air Force, enhancing its readiness to meet present-day challenges.
Mathrubhumi also reported that even though his name hasn’t been directly tied to the on-ground execution of Operation Sindoor, defense analysts suggest that officers of Ahmad’s calibre, with in-depth knowledge of aerial warfare and strategic defense systems, are integral to operations of such scale and precision.
