LS Speaker lauds Indian scientists, PM for Chandrayaan-2

Lauding India's scientists and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the achievement, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday hailed India's second lunar mission after the 'Babubali' GSLV rocket successfully put moon spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 into orbit in copybook style.

"Chandrayaan-2 has been successfully launched this afternoon at around 2.43 p.m. by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) from Sriharikota. Chandrayaan-2 is the world's first mission on the southern part of moon.

"With the launch of this mission, India has spread the message of our strength and power of our attempts in the field of space," Birla said during the proceedings of the Lower House.

The Speaker said this achievement has increased the glory of Indian of our scientists.

"This House congratulates all the scientists of ISRO and their hard work. This shows the capability and power of Indian scientists," Birla said.

He also lauded the Prime Minister for the success of the mission which provoked sharp criticism from opposition members, with one saying "Prime Minister kahan se aa gaye" (What role does the Prime Minister have in this). 

In his response, Birla said: "This successful launch happened because of hard work of our scientists under the leadership of Prime Minister of this country".

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) blasted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh at exactly 2.43 p.m. to begin its ascent into space.

About 16 minutes into its flight, the rocket put into orbit Chandrayaan-2 to begin its 48-day journey to the moon. 

The success of the Chandrayaan-2 mission will make India the fourth country in the world to land a vehicle and ply it remotely on the lunar surface after the US, Russia and China. IANS