The Indian Space Agency took a major leap forward, when its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, carrying an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan), was successfully launched from the SHAR Range here, commencing its 3.844 lakh km, 48-day long journey for a soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole.
Weighing 3,850 kg, Chandrayaan-2, carrying a billion dreams, was launched at 1443 hrs on Monday afternoon when the 43.43 metre tall heaviest home grown rocket, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV MkIII-M1), capable of launching four-ton class of satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), took off majestically from the Second Launch Pad, after a smooth 20 hour countdown.
