The Chandrayaan programme was conceived by the Government of India and formally announced by former Prime Minister, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on August 15, 2003. Pics/PTI
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, PSLV-C11 was an updated version of the standard configuration of a PSLV. Weighing 320 tonnes at lift-off, the vehicle used larger strap-on motors to achieve higher payload capability
Subsequently, the hardwork of the scientists paid off when the maiden mission onboard ISRO's trusted PSLV-C 11 rocket lifted off on October 22, 2008
Noted scientist Mayilsami Annadurai from Tamil Nadu led the project as the Mission Director of the Chandrayaan-1 mission
While the mission achieved all the desired objectives, the orbit of the spacecraft was further raised to 200 km in May 2009, months after the launch
The satellite made over 3,400 orbits around the moon, more than what was expected by the ISRO team, and the mission finally concluded as the space agency's scientists declared communication was lost from the spacecraft on August 29, 2009. The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram designed and developed the PSLV-C11
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