MANGALYAAN
Mars orbiter blasts off, begins 300-day journey to red planet
HT Correspondent & agencies, Hindustan Times Sriharikota/New Delhi, November 05, 2013
First Published: 14:33 IST(5/11/2013) | Last Updated: 15:31 IST(5/11/2013)
"It's lift off," said a commentator on state television as the
red-and-black rocket launched on schedule at 2.38pm (0908 GMT) from its
launchpad.
THE RED PLANET : MARS
A 350-tonne rocket carrying the 1,340-kg spacecraft lifted clear of the space facility on time at 2.38pm. The rocket is expected to put the spacecraft into an elliptic parking orbit of the Earth at 3.38pm.
The spacecraft will subsequently perform a series of technical
maneuvers and short burns to raise its orbit before it slingshots toward
Mars. It will then travel around 780 million km to reach the red planet
next September, making India the only Asian country to reach Mars with a
programme designed to showcase its low-cost space technology.
Earlier in the morning, the mission control room at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, about 100 km from Chennai, was abuzz with activity as scientists monitored the countdown time for launch of the mission.
“The countdown progressed normally. All vehicle systems were switched on for the final eight and half hour countdown which started at 6:08am,” a spokesman said.
The Mars Orbiter Mission was announced 15 months back by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, shortly after a Chinese probe flopped when it failed to leave Earth's atmosphere.
The timing led to speculation that India was seeking to make a point to its militarily and economically superior neighbour, despite denials from ISRO.
Lacking the power to fly directly, the launch vehicle will orbit the Earth for nearly a month, building up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.
Only then will it begin the second stage of its nine-month journey which will test India's scientists to the full, five years after they sent a probe called Chandrayaan to the moon.
The golden-coloured probe, about the size of a small car, was hurriedly assembled and is being carried by a rocket much smaller than American or Russian equivalents.
The total cost of the project is Rs. 450 crore, less than a sixth of the amount earmarked for a Mars probe set to be launched by Nasa in 13 days time.
“We didn't believe they'd be able to launch this early,” project scientist for the Nasa Mars probe, Joe Grebowsky, said.
There have been recent setbacks for India too, including when Chandrayaan lost contact with its controllers in 2009 and when a new larger launch vehicle blew up after take-off in 2010.
More than half of all Mars projects have failed, including China's in 2011 and Japan's in 2003. Only the United States, Russia and the European Union have successfully reached there.
The country has never before attempted an inter-planetary journey, meaning new technology had to be developed to enable the probe to run autonomously. Communication signals take about 12 minutes to travel between Earth and Mars.
THE RED PLANET : MARS
A 350-tonne rocket carrying the 1,340-kg spacecraft lifted clear of the space facility on time at 2.38pm. The rocket is expected to put the spacecraft into an elliptic parking orbit of the Earth at 3.38pm.
Earlier in the morning, the mission control room at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, about 100 km from Chennai, was abuzz with activity as scientists monitored the countdown time for launch of the mission.
“The countdown progressed normally. All vehicle systems were switched on for the final eight and half hour countdown which started at 6:08am,” a spokesman said.
The Mars Orbiter Mission was announced 15 months back by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, shortly after a Chinese probe flopped when it failed to leave Earth's atmosphere.
The timing led to speculation that India was seeking to make a point to its militarily and economically superior neighbour, despite denials from ISRO.
Lacking the power to fly directly, the launch vehicle will orbit the Earth for nearly a month, building up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.
Only then will it begin the second stage of its nine-month journey which will test India's scientists to the full, five years after they sent a probe called Chandrayaan to the moon.
The golden-coloured probe, about the size of a small car, was hurriedly assembled and is being carried by a rocket much smaller than American or Russian equivalents.
The total cost of the project is Rs. 450 crore, less than a sixth of the amount earmarked for a Mars probe set to be launched by Nasa in 13 days time.
“We didn't believe they'd be able to launch this early,” project scientist for the Nasa Mars probe, Joe Grebowsky, said.
There have been recent setbacks for India too, including when Chandrayaan lost contact with its controllers in 2009 and when a new larger launch vehicle blew up after take-off in 2010.
More than half of all Mars projects have failed, including China's in 2011 and Japan's in 2003. Only the United States, Russia and the European Union have successfully reached there.
The country has never before attempted an inter-planetary journey, meaning new technology had to be developed to enable the probe to run autonomously. Communication signals take about 12 minutes to travel between Earth and Mars.
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