PM deputed his top team for monitoring Chandrayaan-2 Launch

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had closely monitored the launch of Chandrayaan-2 by staying in touch with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K. Sivan and deputed his key officials including his Additional Principal Secretary, P.K. Mishra, the Principal Scientific Advisor to government, K. VijayRaghavan and the former ISRO chief and the Honarary Distinguished Advisor to the Department of Space, K. Radhakrishnan to coordinate with ISRO, especially during the 6-day delay in the launch.

Mishra, Radhakrishnan and Raghavan were present in Sriharikota when the launch was completed successfully on Monday and were the first ones to congratulate Sivan and his team following the successful launch. Mishra kept the PM updated on the developments daily, sources in the government who are aware of the matter told ET.

There was some concern in the government after the launch could not be carried out on the morning of July 16 due to a glitch but the PM had “motivating words” for the ISRO team soon after, telling them that he had the confidence in the team to find a solution soon as India had the best talent in the world in the field of space, sources said.


The PM was assured nearer to the new launch date by ISRO that the moon-landing date would remain the same, September 7, despite the launch being delayed by six days. Modi acknowledged this as a big achievement of ISRO in his congratulatory address to scientists post the launch, saying the moon will be reached in even lesser time now. Another senior PMO official accompanied P.K. Mishra to Sriharikota for the launch.

“Scientists at ISRO have shown that they have the talent, capability and self-confidence to face all challenges. The bigger the challenge, more is your resolve to achieve success,” the PM said to the ISRO team led by Sivan post the launch.

Sources in the government said PMO has sought daily reports on the progress of the Chandrayaan-2 Mission and that the same will be monitored closely. Modi himself holds the charge of Department of Space.