CHANDRAYAAN-2: Experts fixing engine snag, say fresh launch date later

At 1.55 am on Monday, with only 56.24 minutes left for the lift-off, ISRO’s Mission Control Centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here announced that it was not possible to launch at the scheduled time and the countdown was held back.

“A technical snag was observed in the launch vehicle system at t-minus 56 minutes. As a measure of abundant precaution Chandrayaan-II launch has been called off for today,” ISRO Associate Director (Public Relations) B R Guruprasad said. The lift-off of the three-component spacecraft weighing 3,850 kg and comprising an orbiter, the lander and the rover was scheduled from the SDSC here.

Speaking to DT Next, a senior ISRO official said that the snag was noticed in cryogenic engine of the rocket. “After identifying the fault, all activities related to the launch was brought to a halt,” the official said. “A technical team led by the mission director, will be going to the launchpad for a detailed investigation following which we will know the exact details.”

Hours after the launch was called off, former ISRO chief K Madhavan Nair recalled that India’s first mission to the Moon too had experienced a similar problem shortly before the rocket could blast off.

But Indian Space Research Organisation scientists found and rectified the error and the mission took off as planned, said Nair, the chairman of the space agency during Chandrayaan-1 launch in 2008.

After the launch was deferred, efforts are on to rectify the technical snag. A senior technical staff from ISRO told DT Next at Sriharikota space station that time frame for the re-launch will decided after the magnitude of the problem in the rocket is properly detected.

“First, the technical team of ISRO will go to the launchpad and identify the glitch and find whether it could be rectified there itself or not”, he said.

The official said that if snag can be solved on the launchpad itself, the re-launch will take place within 10 days, provided that ISRO’s launch committee clears the lift-off schedule.

“However, if the problem cannot be fixed at the launchpad, then the rocket has to be taken into the vehicle assembly building, which will take a lot more time,” he said. “Once the rocket reaches the vehicle assembly building, the spacecraft will be dismantled for proper verification. If that is the case, the re-launch will be delayed further.”

After the agency rectifies the snag, the rocket might have to be reassembled. “The fuel drain process will begin and at the same time cryogenic engine should be dried before filling fuel at different stages of the rocket launch”, the ISRO official pointed out.

Stating that the next launch window after July would be in September, the official said, “The next launch depends on the magnitude of the snag. At this point, it is difficult to say when the launch can be scheduled.” In addition, a launch failure analysis committee, which will be constituted to investigate the technical snag, will also submit its report.