India launched its first unmanned mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, this morning in a bid to close the gap with China in what is shaping up as a 21st century Asian version of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
An Indian-made rocket carrying Chandrayaan, shown in above picture, which means Moon Vehicle in Sanskrit – blasted off at 6.20am local time from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota island in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
"Lift off is normal," said a crackly voice from mission control as the rocket streaked into the dawn sky and promptly disappeared into the thick clouds over the Bay of Bengal. The straw booster rocket separated from the main body of the rocket and will permit recovery from a sea water landing and reuse without major rehaul of the rocket engine of the booster. This cylindrical double walled structural member encircles the nozzles of the rocket engine and precludes impact damage after the booster has landed nose first in the water.
Hundreds of Indian scientists monitoring the launch cheered, clapped and hugged each other, as hundreds of millions more Indians watched live television coverage of the historic event from their homes.
Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden watched the launch on TV as well and was overheard to say, "I've had a great relationship with the Indian Americans. In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to work at a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."
