New Delhi: A recent report by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) disclosed that the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s launch was postponed by four seconds to avoid a potential collision with space debris. The Indian Situational Space Awareness Report (ISSAR) for 2023 revealed that the scheduled lift-off of the Launch Vehicle Mark-3, which carried the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, was adjusted after a Collision on Launch Avoidance (COLA) analysis.
This delay was necessary to prevent the spacecraft from coming too close to a piece of space debris, and to prevent any close encounters between the debris and the satellites in their orbits. An overlap of operational altitudes was cited as the reason.
The delay in the launch ensured a safe passage for the spacecraft on its journey to the moon without the threat of collision. Chandrayaan-3, carrying the lunar lander module Vikram and rover Pragyaan, was launched from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on July 14 last year. This feat made India the first nation in the world to safely land a craft near the south pole region of the moon.
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