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Historic moment for the entire country, the PSLV-C11, carrying India’s first unmanned moon spacecraft Chandrayaan-1, was successfully put into initial orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Wednesday at around 6.40 am. Watch

At the end of the 49-hour countdown, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-C11 blasted off from the second launch pad lifted off from the second launch pad into a cloudy sky. Chandrayaan-1 is carrying 11 payloads, five entirely designed and developed in India, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from US, which would explore the Moon over the next two years.

After a series of procedures over the next two weeks, the spacecraft would reach its desired Lunar orbit and placed at a height of 100 km from the Lunar surface, marking the operational phase of the mission which would put India in the elite lunar club.

Large crowds had gathered at Sriharikota since early Wednesday morning to witness this historic event. The crowds cheered at the PSLV, which soared majestically into the skies. However, the thick black clouds played spoil sport for those waiting to watch the PSLV launch into the skies. Watch

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India’s First Mission to Moon - Chandrayaan

India in going to join the elite club of counties who have been able to send missions to moon, if everything goes as planned, any of the days starting October 19th to 28th would be remembered as the day when indian reach the nearest celestial body, the MOON. Chandrayaan-1 (means moon craft) is all set to make its first voyage to moon on these tentative dates depending on the weather condition.

Chandrayaan-1 was built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) along with HAL and carries 11 payloads, five from India and six from International agencies, three from the European Space Agency (ESA) one from the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency (BSA), and two from NASA. Chandrayaan-1 is a 590-kg spacecraft and it will be launched by a India’s own Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The PSLV has been the most successful launch vehicle for ISRO till date. It holds the record for sending as many as 10 satellites simultaneously during its last mission. This time, it is all set to break its own record by carrying 11 different payloads. Due to the modifications, the PSLV C-11 will have a lift-off weight of 316 tonnes, higher than the “standard” 294-ton version. The payload capacity also has increased from 1600 kg to 1800 kg.

During the two year mission, Chandrayaan-1 will orbit the Lunar surface and sends digital elevation maps of the moon. It will also send information on the traces of the composition of the lunar surface apart from looking for atomic minerals such as thorium, uranium and radon. it will also look into the possibility of finding water on the moon.

ISRO points out that a lunar mission can provide impulse to science in India, a challenge to technology and possibly a new dimension to international cooperation. ISRO has announced that Chandrayaan-1 will be on display for the first time before Media.

Undoubtedly, for India which began its space journey in a modest way in 1963 with the launch of a 9-kilo rocket from a research facility at the fishing hamlet of Thumba in Kerala, the Chandrayaan-1 marks a quantum leap. Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam laid this foundation of what has become one of the greatest success stories of India. We have seen numerous successes in the recent past with our space programs. On 28th April 2008, we created history by launching ten satellites in one go, carrying a payload of 824 kg. India’s first fully commercial launch came on 23rd April when the Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, was sent into space. On January 10th 2007, India launched the PSLV C-7 vehicle, injecting four satellites into orbit. The moon mission would cost a whopping Rs 386 crores.

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