Chennai, India: November 5, 2008 – IR Summary/Agencies/ ISRO -  Chandrayaan-1 has left the gravity of the Earth on Tuesday and became the first Indian-built spacecraft heading towards the Moon.

It accomplished this significant milestone in its journey when it entered the lunar transfer orbit with an apogee of 3,80,000 km after its on-board engine fired for two and a half minutes from 4.56 a.m.

The spacecraft will cross the 3,80,000 km-mark, that is reach the vicinity of the moon, on November 8. The moon is 3,84,000 km from the earth. Chandrayaan-1 is India’s dedicated science mission to study it in detail.

M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, said: “The spacecraft is in lunar transfer orbit. Everything is normal. We will do the lunar insertion maneuver of the spacecraft on November 8. We are working for the spacecraft to reach its final lunar orbit on November 15.”

On the mission, Mr. Annadurai said, “everything is proceeding as per plan. We will continue to monitor and track the spacecraft.”

En route to the moon, Chandrayaan-1 will take pictures of the lunar surface with the help of its scientific instrument called the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC). The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already switched on the TMC, which has beamed down pictures of the earth.

Commands for the crucial maneuver of putting Chandrayaan-1 in the lunar transfer orbit were radioed from the Spacecraft Control Centre, the nerve-centre of the operations now, located at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bangalore. ISTRAC can control the two massive bowl-shaped antennas, with diameters of 32 metres and 18 metres, at Byalalu village, 40 km away. These antennas keep a tab on Chandrayaan-1’s journey to the moon.

S.K. Shivakumar, ISTRAC Director, said: “Chandrayaan-1 is on the way to the moon now. Its apogee will be 3,80,000 km. It is the first Indian-built spacecraft to leave the earth’s gravity. It has enough escape-velocity to leave the earth’s gravity.”

When the spacecraft approaches the moon on November 8, the Spacecraft Control Centre will beam commands for inserting Chandrayaan-1 into the lunar orbit and it will be attracted by the moon’s gravity. On November 15, it will be lowered into its final orbit when it will start circling the moon over its poles at an altitude of 100 km. The spacecraft was in good shape, Mr. Shivakumar said. The 32-metre and 18-metre antennas were “very much tracking” it.