ISRO Chief Takes Blessings of Chengalamma Devi for Chandrayaan-III Mission

Tirupati, July 13: Chairman Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S. Somanath on Thursday visited Sri Chengalamma Parameswarini temple at Sullurpeta near here and took the blessings of the deity for a successful launch of Chandrayaan-3  Mission. 

``I need the blessings of Goddess Chengalamma Devi...I came here to pray and seek the blessings for the success of this Mission,’’ Somanath told mediapersons. The famous temple is 22 km away from Sriharikota, where the ISRO space port is situated.

He also said that on Friday the Chandrayaan-III Mission launching will be at 2.45 pm. ``Chandrayaan-III will start its journey after its launch. It will reach around the Earth and then it will start travelling towards the Moon slowly over a month’s time. We are hoping that if everything goes well then it will land on the lunar surface August 23 onwards, any day,’’ he explained.

The ISRO Chairman is known for his immense contributions to launch vehicle design, particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, and pyrotechnics. He also served as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. He was associated with the PSLV project and was the project Director of GSLV Mark III in 2010. Currently, he is also the Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of the Space Commission.

The ISRO Chairman also hinted at the next major launch by ISRO will be a commercial satellite by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket and it could happen towards July-end. He also revealed that the Aditya-L1 Mission launch, which is the first Indian space mission to study the Sun, is likely to happen next month.