Gaganyaan test vehicle lifts off after brief anomaly

Nerves gave way to smiles at the spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh as delays and an anomaly-triggered 'hold' forced ISRO scientists to revise the launch schedule of a test vehicle carrying payloads related to the country's ambitious human space flight mission, Gaganyaan which soared into skies after initial hiccups.

Following a two-hour delay and nerve-wracking moments after the engine of TV-D1 failed to ignite initially, ISRO scientists put the mission on course 75 minutes later when they launched the rocket with precision and achieved the goal of Crew Module and Crew Escape separation that was welcomed with loud cheers at the Mission Control Center here.

TV D1 Mission was fully achieved, ISRO announced. The payloads later splashed into the sea as planned, a development that witnessed jubilation.

Gaganyaan programme aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to Earth.

(With Agency inputs)