In a message on Twitter, Kovind said, “the historic launch of #Chandrayaan2 from Sriharikota is a proud moment for all Indians. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers for furthering India's indigenous space programme. May @ISRO continue to master new technologies, and continue to conquer new frontiers.
“Chandrayaan2 will be the first spacecraft to land close to the moon’s South Pole in some 50 days from now. The mission is expected to lead to new discoveries and enrich our knowledge systems. I wish the Chandrayaan-2 team every success,” he added.
PM Narendra Modi also took to Twitter saying “special moments that will be etched in the annals of our glorious history! The launch of #Chandrayaan2 illustrates the prowess of our scientists and the determination of 130 crore Indians to scale new frontiers of science.
“Every Indian is immensely proud today,” he added.
The 43.43m tall three stage rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota into cloudy skies at 2.43 pm and about 16 minutes later released the 3,850 kg Chandrayaan-2 into the orbit, exactly a week after the earlier launch was aborted due to a technical snag observed during the propellant filling stage.
The Rs 978 crore moon mission marks the successful accomplishment of the first phase of the ambitious mission that will approximately take about 48 days to land on the surface of the Moon.