The third orbit-raising manoeuvre (earth-bound perigee firing) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was performed successfully at ISTRAC, Bengaluru on July 18. The next manoeuvre is planned for July 20, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The ISRO said that the moon mission is on schedule. On July 17, ISRO successfully performed the second orbit- raising manoeuvre (earth-bound apogee firing) to place the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft in the 41,603 km x 226 km orbit.
orbit-raising manoeuvre
An orbit-raising maneuver is a change in the orbit of a spacecraft that increases its altitude or speed. This can be done by firing the spacecraft’s engines, or by using the gravity of another body, such as the Earth or the Moon.
Orbit-raising maneuvers are used for a variety of purposes, including:
- To place a spacecraft into a higher This is often done to increase the spacecraft’s lifetime, as it will be further from the Earth’s atmosphere and less affected by drag.
- To change the inclination of a spacecraft’s This is the angle between the spacecraft’s orbit and the Earth’s equator. Changing the inclination can allow the spacecraft to access different parts of the Earth’s orbit.
- To transfer a spacecraft from one orbit to another. This is often done when a spacecraft is moving from the Earth’s orbit to the Moon’s orbit, or vice
The third point is not practiced in Chandrayaan 3