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My heart skipped a beat or two: Madhavan Nair

Bangalore: “The last 20 minutes were so critically important, I can say my heart skipped a beat or two,” G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said after Chandrayaan-1 was successfully inserted into the Moon’s orbit on Saturday evening.

No fewer than 500 scientists, led by Mr. Nair, had gathered at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Peenya, near here, where the complex ‘lunar orbit insertion manoeuvre’ was performed at 4.50 p.m.

“Think of the satellite as a parachute free-falling from an aircraft,” Mr. Nair told The Hindu.

“We had to ensure that Chandrayaan’s enormous velocity in deep space was arrested in time and also that it was set in the right track. A host of commands had to be given to ensure that all elements were in good form.”