Bhubaneswar: A day before India’s third mission to the moon, a team of ISRO scientists arrived at Tirupati Venkatachalapathy Temple in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday with a miniature model of Chandrayaan-3 to offer prayers.
The lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-3 will be launched from Sriharikota at 2.35 pm on Friday and a successful soft landing will make India the fourth country, after the United States, Russia, and China, to achieve the feat.
Odisha is equally excited for the launch with major components of the Lander, Rover and spacecraft being manufactured at the Bhubaneswar-based Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC) at a cost of Rs 12 crore.
Speaking to the media, CTTC general manager L Rajasekhar said 23 types of valves for the launch vehicle and some critical parts for the spacecraft have been developed at the centre. “We have supplied more than 75,000 precision components, including mechanical dynamic tuned gyros, internal navigation systems, RGPD components, temperature sensors and preserve wall, to ISRO for the project. Glass missioning processors tower placer to reduce the weight of a spacecraft has also been developed here,” he said.
More than 1o0 people, including regular, contractual and trainees, have been working at the centre for the last two years for developing these components with hand-holding from ISRO. “We have been working very closely with ISRO since 2016 while being associated with it for 23 years. We have developed all critical component based on the drawings sent by ISRO for this mission to place lander and rover on south pole of the moon,” he said.
Rajsekhar further said that a lot of equipment were redesigned based on the lessons learnt from the failure of Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 is set to soar with more solar panels and antennas (3 instead of 1), enabling power generation even in non-ideal landings. “Tomorrow will be a big day for CTTC Bhubaneswar and we are eagerly waiting for the success of Chandrayaan-3,” he said.
The centre has also completed 80% components for Gaganyaan project, which will be launched at the end of 2023 or in 2024, he added.
OTHER FEATURES OF THE NEW AVATAR
Vikram will have stronger legs than in its previous avatar to enable withstanding landing to endure a velocity of 3m/second as against 2m/second. It has been packed with extra fuel reserves to handle mission disruptions and have the “ability to come back”. A new high-tech sensor, called the laser doppler velocity metre, has also been added to provide crucial date on the lunar terrain. The ISRO has improved the software to have more tolerance to engine disruptions, thrust disruptions and sensor failures. The central and fifth engine, which was a late addition to Chandrayaan-2 lander, have been removed for better operational efficiency.
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