Chandrayaan 2 launch countdown begins

"The launch countdown of #GSLVMkIII-M1/#Chandrayaan2 commenced today at 1843 Hrs IST. The launch is scheduled at 1443 Hrs IST on July 22nd," tweeted Indian's space research organisation ISRO.

Chandrayaan-2 will carry an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan), take to skies on Monday from the SHAR Range at Sriharikota, commencing its 3.844 lakh km, month-long journey for a soft landing on the Moon's South Pole.

Weighing 3,850 kg, the launch of Chandrayaan-2, would take place from the Second Launch Pad at 1443 on Monday afternoon when the 43.43m tall heaviest homegrown rocket, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV MkIII-M1), capable of launching 4-ton class of satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), lifts off from the spaceport.

ISRO sources said the Launch rehearsal has been completed and much to their delight the performance was normal.

After a meeting of the Launch Authorisation Board and Mission.Readiness Review Committee, the countdown for the launch would begin.

The launch was earlier scheduled on July 15, but was deferred an hour before the take-off due to a technical snag in the launch vehicle.

On July 18, ISRO announced that the expert committee identified the root cause of the technical snag and all corrective actions were implemented.

''Thereafter, the system performance is normal and Chandrayaan-2 launch is now rescheduled for July 22 at 1443 hrs," it said.