Chandrayaan-3 under test, will be launched between July 12-19: ISRO Chief

Thiruvananthapuram: The third edition of India’s highly praised Chandrayan mission will climb skies any day between July 12 and 19, reports say.

The launch will take place if the test for the Chandrayan-3 gets underway as planned, said S Somanath, Chairman Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), NDTV reported.

The ISRO Chairman revealed the details to a gathering at Kothavara St Xavier's College, Vaikam in Kerala, where he inaugurated ISRO’s one-day workshop and space exhibition.

The Chandrayaan has already arrived at the launch pad in Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota from UR Rao Satellite Centre, he said.

‘The final preparations are going on. It will be completed by the end of this month. The rocket, LVM-3, is going to be used for this launch and its assembly is going on. All parts for its assembly have reached Sriharikota. It will be launched between July 12 and 19,’ Somanath was quoted as saying.

He added that Chandrayan is extensively tested to avoid potential glitches in hardware, structure, computers, software and sensors.

Giving further details of the process currently underway, he said that more fuel is added, its landing legs are strengthened, and bigger solar panels for energy production have been fitted as well as placing an additional sensor.

‘To measure its speed, a 'Laser Doppler VelociMeter' instrument, which was developed in the last year, has been added. We have also changed its algorithm and new software has been added to help Chandrayaan to land in another area if there is any failure at the scheduled spot,’ the ISRO chairman was quoted as saying.