Chandrayaan-2 launch date final — ISRO moon mission to now begin on 22 July

Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter at launch centre | isro.gov.in

New Delhi: ISRO will attempt to launch its Chandrayaan-2 mission at 2.43 pm on 22 July, the space agency has announced. The detection of a glitch at the last minute had led to the launch being called off on its earlier proposed date, 15 July.

Chandrayaan-2 launch, which was called off due to a technical snag on July 15, 2019, is now rescheduled at 2:43 pm IST on Monday, July 22, 2019. #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO

— ISRO (@isro) July 18, 2019

Just 56 minutes before the launch on 15 July, live streams and the screens inside ISRO’s Sriharikota campus went blank as engineers detected what they called a ‘technical glitch’ with the GSLV rocket. Early reports suggested that this could be a problem with the fuel conductor, with officials stating that a ten-day investigation might be due, prompting guesses that the next launch date could be next month.

Subsequent reports indicated that there had been a pressure leak in the cryogenic stage, in the helium storage container that pressurises multiple systems onboard including fuel systems.

Cryogenic fuel is stored at very cold temperatures in liquid form. The fuel burns in the presence of an oxidiser within a combustion chamber and its conversion to gas and subsequent heating provide thrust for the rocket.

Leak caused by strained joint

According to a report by The Times of India, the leak was caused due to the proximity of the joint to a supercooled oxygen tank, whose freezing temperatures caused the joint to strain. This could potentially lead to a redesign of the indigenous cryogenic stage of the rocket that flew for the first time two years ago. Engineers also managed to work on the issue at hand without moving the rocket from the launch pad.

The ₹978-crore Chandrayaan-2 mission also saw ISRO’s increased efforts at outreach, with a new and active YouTube channel as well as a crowd of 5,000 members of the public, who registered to view the launch from the new viewing gallery at Sriharikota.