Moonliner Chandrayaan I roared into space on board an upgraded PSLV rocket for a two-year exploration of the lunar surface at dawn on Wednesday, launching India into an orbit of achievement reached by only five other scientific powers — realizing an ambition once considered by many as sheer lunacy.

The 316-tonne PSLV-C11 lifted off in a textbook launch at 6.22 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota to cheers and celebration that rang around the world all day.

“Our baby is on the way to the moon,” mission director Mylswamy Annadurai said after the satellite was injected into the transfer orbit with a perigee (nearest point) of about 250 km and apogee (farthest point) of about 23,000 km about 19 minutes after the launch.

“Today, what we have started is a remarkable journey for the Indian space craft to go to the moon and try to unravel its mysteries,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief G Madhavan Nair said in his address to the nation.

“This was the first leg of the journey, and perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the journey, which has been completed successfully,” he added.

Chandrayaan I is carrying the Indian flag which will be planted on the lunar surface when the Moon Impactor Probe lands. Once the mission is complete, India will join the very exclusive club of nations with the capacity to make lunar journeys, alongside the US, the erstwhile USSR, the European Space Agency, Japan and China.

Wednesday’s launch window was only 15 minutes long: had the rocket failed to lift off, the operation would have had to be postponed. But the heavy rain of the past several days weakened to drizzle at just the right time.

... contd.