ISRO successfully manoeuvres Chandrayaan-2 satellite into lunar orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, has successfully manoeuvred Chandrayaan-2 satellite into lunar orbit today at 0902 hours using the on-board propulsion system. A press release issued by the space agency says that the satellite is placed in 114 Kilometres-by-18072 Kilometres orbit and the duration of manoeuvre was 1738 seconds. 

Following this a series of four-orbit manoeuvres will be performed, including the one tomorrow, to reach an orbit of 100 Kilometres over the surface of the moon. The lander and



rover within it will separate from the Orbiter at this stage and soft-land on the South Pole of the moon on 7th of September. 

ISRO has achieved a milestone today by precisely placing the spacecraft around moon by maintaining precise altitude, velocity and time of the burn. Moon is 3.84 lakh Kilometres away from Earth. Success in soft landing the lander Vikram on the lunar surface will make India the fourth country after Russia, US and China to land on moon.