New Delhi: India’s expedition to the moon is all set to begin today with the launch of Chandrayaan-2 by using the heavy-lift launch vehicle GSLV-Mark-Three.
The rocket carrying the prestigious probe will be ignited at 2.43 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, some 90 kilometres off Chennai.
Indian Space Research Organisation scientists said, the 20-hour countdown for the launch began last evening at 6.43 pm and is progressing smoothly.
The launch rehearsal has been done by the scientists and engineers of the ISRO at Sriharikota on Sunday.
All the parameters during the rehearsal were found to be normal. Speaking to reporters in Chennai yesterday, ISRO chairman Dr Sivan said, that all preparatory arrangements have been put in place for the mission, the space agency said.
Originally Chandrayaan-2 was planned to be launched on the 15th of this month. However, a technical snag was detected less than an hour before its scheduled lift-off, forcing the mission to be halted.