To moon or not to moon....

                ……..static……;”Can you hear me…..Hanuman……static……”…….;”Have you left……atmosp…..”…..static……please respond…..;”I repeat, ha……………left…..earth’s atmosphere”. There was no reply.

                The year is 2015 and India’s first manned mission to moon – Hanuman, was to make or break history. The Indians were so confident they did not bother to suffix it with roman numerals. No one in the least; expected India’s first manned mission so soon but it was underway. It was made public on july 5^th 2015 on a Friday. Since then, the media had followed it voraciously. On july 5^th the construction was ready and the planned launch was set to September 1^st. This period was used by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for analysis of possible errors. This date was postponed to September 7^th, the shortest postponement in Indian history, due to some last minute technicalities and was made known to public mid August. Everything was set and ready by the sixth of September. Five were chosen for this meticulous mission – Air Marshal. R. Shravan, Air Vice-Marshal. G. T. Bahadur, Group Captain. S. Malik, Group Captain. S. Shankar and Dr. Vishwas Grewal. All within the age groups of 30 to 45 years. They were selected after scrupulous procedures in conjunction with NASA. The whole launch along with the radio conversations was broadcast on every channel on T.V., Radio, Internet, etc.

                On September 7^th from Shriharikota at exactly 18 hours and 43 minutes, the countdown from 60 began. 60, 59,…., 34,……, 21,….., 13,…., 10,9,….., everyone held their breath; they were pressing the radio against their ears, sticking their eyes close to the television, they were glued to the live telecast on the internet,4,3,2,1,0, gasp, BLAST OFF. There was a thunderous uproar as the engines blasted the solid fuel, which on combustion, created a humungous thrust. For a second or two the rocket remained stationary and then started to inch with a pompous vigor. One other thing happened, the long lasting anxious but still breath of every single Indian, gave way to awe inspired by the majestic display of might.

                The rocket is a multistage one with three stages. The Indians had done something wonderful and different. The three stages had three distinct types of fuel used which was only tested on the unmanned missions of Chandrayaan III and IV. Also set in place was an electronic system far superior to its predecessors. The rocket design was the same as the conventional ones but with minor modifications. The moon mission was divided into three phases. Phase I involved the launch and exit of earth’s atmosphere; Phase II involved the approach of the moon, slingshot around the moon which will encounter the dark side of the moon, and the approach back to Earth and Phase III involved reentry. The Purpose of the mission was to collect data for successful manned landing on the moon and information about the moon’s surface, atmosphere, etc.

                Hanuman gradually increased speed with altitude with only one intention, to attain the escape velocity of 11.2 km/s before hitting the outermost layer of the atmosphere. With the beginning of its ascent the first set of communications from the control station began. The world was listening to this communication with intense anticipation. There was no activity going on throughout India. The communications revealed a successful launch and a successful ascent. There was rejoicing everywhere. Everyone was shouting, the whole country was cheering. The rocket passed the troposphere and entered into the stratosphere. It was like a baby trying to escape the warm womb of its mother, slowly but steadily inching towards freedom. It was now in the mesosphere heading towards the thermosphere. It had achieved its target velocity. The communications became more and more heated. Hanuman was nearing its goal. It was almost there. Phase I would be a success very soon. But, the inevitable happened. India could hear the voice over the static from Hanuman. It was Shravan;”There seems to be a problem in………….static……….”

                If there would have been a cardiogram attached to every Indian it would have registered a short and simultaneous lull. The heartbeat of every Indian had temporarily stopped………….

(will be continued)