What type of propulsion system will Chandrayaan-1 use? How much propellant will it carry?
Chandrayaan-1 will use bipropellant integrated propulsion system. The propulsion system consists of a unified bi-propellant system for orbit raising and attitude control.
It consists of one 440N engine and eight numbers of 22N thrusters, mounted on the negative roll face of the spacecraft. Two tanks each with a capacity of 390 liter are used for storing fuel and oxidizer.
How will mission controllers communicate with the spacecraft?
If the spacecraft encounters a problem, it can establish contact with controllers on Earth through the Deep Space Network.
Can the team fix the spacecraft from Earth?
If a component on the spacecraft fails, controllers on Earth can instruct Chandrayaan to bring a backup online. If the spacecraft points in the wrong direction, its attitude can be corrected. If the spacecraft deviates from the desired trajectory, a controlled burn (thruster firing) can be performed to put it back on track.
Most minor problems can be corrected from Earth with existing onboard instruction systems.
Image: The team working on the moon mission.
Photograph: KPN Photo
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