Chandrayaan 2 launch live updates: GSLV-MkIII carrying Chandrayaan-2 lifts off successfully

A special puja was performed at Chandranar temple at Thingalur in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu on Monday for the success Chandrayaan-2. GSLV Mk-III carrying the spacecraft for the moon mission will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2.43pm today. The presiding deity of Chandranar temple is Soma (moon). However, the main idol at the temple is that of Kailasanathar (Lord Shiva). The temple, which is located on the Kumbakonam-Thiruvaiyaru Main Road, is considered one of the nine navagraha temples in Tamil Nadu. Read more

A total of 7,500 persons have registered online with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to watch India's heavy lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) roaring towards the skies carrying Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft on Monday afternoon, it is learnt. People from various places have registered to witness the launch. The Isro decided to allow general public to witness the launch recently. A gallery has been built for the purpose. Though the gallery capacity is about 10,000 people, Isro plans to increase the number of viewers in a gradual manner.

As Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists gear up for the launch of India's moon mission Chandrayaan-2 after it was aborted last week due to a technical glitch, some locals of Kanpur on Monday morning offered prayers at a temple here for the mission's success. On the first Monday of Sawan (Shravan), the fifth month of Hindu calendar, which is considered as auspicious and celebrated widely across North India, people performed Puja at the Vameshwar Mahadeo temple offering milk, water and garlands to the deity. Seen alongside were banners and posters of ISRO and Chandrayaan-2 and the Indian flag in the backdrop. "Chandrayaan-2 will become a milestone in India's glorious history. We are offering prayers for its successful launch," Nikhil Gupta, a Kanpur resident told ANI.

A 20-hour countdown for the launch of India’s second moon mission – Chandrayaan-2 –onboard GSLV Mk-III, country’s most powerful rocket to date, started at 6.43pm on Sunday. The launch is scheduled at 2.43pm on Monday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The mission was earlier planned for July 15. However, the launch was aborted -- almost an hour before the planned 2.51am lift-off -- after Isro scientists identified a glitch while filing helium in the cryogenic engine of the rocket. Read more

A source said, “Our routine does not change. Whether it is a Moon mission or a Mars mission, whether we are launching a PSLV or a GSLV, the drill is the same. Yes, tension is more palpable this time.” The 20-hour countdown for the July 22 launch started at 6.43pm on Sunday. Filling of propellants will start late on Sunday night and continue on Monday. For all the GSLV-MkIII launches, Isro first fills the solid propellants in the rocket boosters after the countdown starts. Then they fill the propellants in the core stage (L110), which is a liquid engine using UDMH (Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) and nitrogen tetroxide, and the fuel in the cryogenic stage — liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen — are filled, and then helium.