Chandrayaan-1 launch successful, lunar orbit insertion next

Chandrayaan-1 was launched successfully, without a hitch, on October 22, 2008. Despite rains and a cloudy sky, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-11 was launched from the second launch pad.

Latest: Chandrayaan-1 now 9Nov. 4) in lunar transfer trajectory, lunar orbit insertion next

Chandrayaan-1 blast-off photo

Nineteen minutes after take-off, Chandrayaan-1 was put into Transfer Orbit by the PSLV-C11 Polar Launch Vehicle.

The spacecraft was launched into a Transfer Orbit at perigee (nearest point to earth) of about 250 km and apogee (farthest point from the earth ) of about 23,000 km.

Chandrayaan-1 launch photo

Over a period of two weeks, the Chandrayaan-1 will reach its desired Lunar Orbit at a height of 100 km from the surface of the moon.

According to ISRO, Chandrayaan-1 will be then taken into two more elliptical orbits with apogees at at 37,000 km and 73,000 km, respectively.

This will be achieved by firing the spacecraft’s Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) when the spacecraft is near perigee. Later, LAM would be fired again to take the spacecraft to an extremely high elliptical orbit whose apogee lies at about 387,000 km.

Chandrayaan-1 will make one complete revolution around the earth in 11 days. The Chandrayaan-1 will come into the vicinity of the moon during its second revolution around the world.

“Once the Chandrayaan-1 reaches the vicinity of the moon, the spacecraft is oriented in a particular way and its LAM is again fired. This slows down the spacecraft sufficiently to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit. Following this, the height of the spacecraft’s orbit around the moon is reduced in steps. After a careful and detailed observation of perturbations in its intermediate orbits around the moon, the height of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft’s orbit will be finally lowered to its intended 100 km height from the lunar surface,” says ISRO.

This milestone will be achieved around November 8, 2008.

Following this stage, the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) would be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 in a specific area. Once the MIP has been ejected, cameras, spectrometers, radar systems, and other payloads on the spacecraft would be activated and tested.

Chandrayaan-1 take-off photo

Chandrayaan-1 launch preparation photo

The Chandrayaan-1 will map not only the surface of the moon but also what lies beneath it. ISRO will use a 3,080-pound lunar probe for creating a high-resolution map of the lunar surface and the minerals found below it.

Chandrayaan-1 PSLV C-11 photo

The Chandrayaan-1 is expected to create a three-dimensional atlas of the lunar surface, as it plans remote-sensing of the moon in the visible, near infrared, microwave and X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

PSLV-C11 fourth stage stage

An important objective of Chandrayaan-1 is to find Helium-3 gas, a rare isotope, which could be used as a replacement for fossil fuels and also to power nuclear fusion.

Chandrayaan-1 aims to gather more comprehensive pictures of the lunar surface, as compared to Japan’s Kaguya spacecraft, launched in October 2007, and China’s Chang’e launched in November 2007. Chandrayaan-1 will map the entire surface of the moon in two years.

Third and fourth stage hoisting of of PSLV-C11

ISRO has said that it hopes that the Chandrayaan-1 mission will shed some light on what appears to be the presence of water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon’s polar areas.

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) will hit the lunar surface on November 15, 2008, if things move as planned.

PSLV-C11 second stage hoisting photo

The Chandrayaan1 project has cost $79 million, much lower that of the Japanese and Chinese moon missions.

In the future, ISRO will collaborate with Israel on a project to carry an ultra-violet telescope in an Indian satellite by 2009.

PSLV-C11 First Stage Nozzle End Segment positioning over launch pedestal photo

Reports say that ISRO is planning to build a tropical weather satellite with France, and collaborate with Japan to improve disaster management from space.

ISRO, also plans to develop a heavy lift satellite launched by 2010.