Why Chandraayan-2 Mission is aborted explained

Indian Space Research Organisation was all set to launch the GSLV Mark III rocket which was carrying Vikram Lander and Pragyan rover on 15th of July 2019 at 2:51 AM. But then some unfortunate reasons the launch was aborted and it is now postponed to September 2019.

Let us see the reason for which the mission has been aborted


Helium leakage (Reason to Abort the Mission)

The launch vehicle is located between the cryogenic stage and Chandrayaan-2. It contains a command gas bottle. The mission had to be stopped due to the helium leakage inside it. Helium's pressure level was not becoming in the bottle. It dropped from 330 points to 300, then 280 and eventually reached 160. So the launch had to be stopped. During the ground test on June 22, there was a problem of leakage in the oxygen tank. But it was reformed.

What is the Cryogenic Stage

A cryogenic engine/ cryogenic stage is the last stage of space launch vehicles which makes use of Cryogenics. Cryogenics is the study of the production and behavior of materials at extremely low temperatures (below -150-degree Centigrade) to lift and place the heavier objects in space. 
The cryogenic stage is technically a much more complexed system with respect to solid or liquid propellant (stored on earth) stages due to the usage of propellants at extremely low temperatures. A cryogenic engine provides more force with each kilogram of cryogenic propellant it uses compared to other propellants, such as solid and liquid propellant rocket engines and is more efficient. 

The cryogenic engine makes use of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) as propellants which liquefy at -183 deg C and -253 deg C respectively. LOX and LH2 are stored in their respective tanks. From there they are pumped into turbopump by individual booster pumps to ensure a high flow rate of propellants inside the combustion/thrust chamber. The major components of a cryogenic rocket engine are combustion/thrust chamber, igniter, fuel injector, fuel cryopumps, oxidizer cryopumps, gas turbine, cryo valves, regulators, the fuel tanks and a rocket engine nozzle.

What if we neglected the leakage and launched the vehicle

Chandran-2 may get lost from Earth's Orbit

The GSLV-MK3 rocket cryogenic stage closes for about 15 minutes and 97 seconds. This is where the launch vehicle gets separated from the cryogenic stage on Chandrayaan-2. Then its height was about 176.38 km. Chandrayaan-2 would be separated from the launch vehicle at a height of 182 km in the next 25 seconds. But between the height of 176 km to 182 km Chandrayaan-2 is lost in some orbit of the earth. It takes a lot of effort to get it to a fixed orbit. In this whole process, enough fuel of Chandrayaan-2 gets over.

The Trajectory to the Moon gets Deteriorated

In normal conditions, Chandrayaan-2 was about to revolve five orbits in the oval orbital shape around the earth. After wandering in the orbit of the Earth, it was brought back to the fixed path even then it had to make five rounds, but between all of them, the fixed path would have changed for the moon. Chandrayaan-2 had to struggle a lot to bring the right path to the moon's journey. This increases the distance during the journey of the moon.

 What would happen if Chandrayaan-2 reached the moon

If ISRO succeeds in transmitting Chandrayaan-2 to the moon, then there would not be enough fuel in Chandrayaan-2 so that it could complete five rounds around the moon. If after completing the rounds, Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover will not be able to fulfill the mission till they reach the surface of the moon.

Chandrayaan-2's Lifeline decreases after reaching the moon

If the Chandrayaan-2 reached the surface of the moon, Then Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover would land on the surface of the moon but their lifeline would decrease. Due to the low fuel in the most troubled orbiter. It could not revolve around the moon for a year. Along with Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, there can be a problem getting the data from reaching the Earth.

When the pressure of helium decreased, the cryogenic engine gets exploded.

If this mission is not stopped at the right time, then 11 years of ISRO scientists have failed in developing Chandrayaan-II orbiter, rover and lander. It would include five years in which the space application centers, including Ahmedabad, used to work night and night for the scientists of those centers who created all the payloads of Chandrayaan-2. At the same time, the loss of Rs.1000 crores would be different.

For Video explanation click here

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