Chandrayaan-2: ISRO chief says the orbiter is doing well, but no communication with Vikram established

Ahmedabad: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan on Thursday expressed satisfaction on the working of Chandrayaan-2 orbiter while reiterating that no signal has been received from Vikram lander so far.

Speaking to media persons, Sivan stated, "The orbiter is doing very well and all its operations have commenced and it is doing well. We have not received any signal from the lander but orbiter is working very well."

Sivan further stated that a national-level committee has been constituted to analyse the issues with Vikram lander and based on the report, the organisation is determining its future course of actions.

On the upcoming missions, the ISRO chairman stated the agency is working towards the launch of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), Aditya-L1 mission and Gaganyaan mission.

"ISRO is gearing up for the Gaganyaan space program. We will send two unmanned missions to space, one of them will be by end of 2020 and second is targeted to be launched by August 2021 so that we can have the manned mission by December 2021," he said.

The ISRO chairman was in the city to attend a conference organised by the Indian Society of Systems For Science and Engineering (ISSE).

Gaganyaan mission is India's first manned mission to space.