Chandrayaan-3 now in last leg of launch prep

India's moon rocket, Chandrayaan-3, is now in the last leg ahead of launch-the rocket assembly has been completed, the spacecraft has been fully integrated, and payload faring has been achieved successfully officials at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the department of space said on Wednesday.

- Soumya Pillai

On Wednesday, Isro completed the assembly of Chandrayaan-3 and mated it with its launch vehicle, Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), the space body said. "Today, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the encapsulated assembly containing Chandrayaan-3 is mated with LVM-3," Isro said.

The launch vehicle is expected to be moved from the vehicle assembly building to the second launchpad by the end of the week.

"The launch date, which is almost certain, is July 13. But a final announcement is awaited," a top official aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. Isro chairman S Somnath said that the window of launch for India's third lunar mission continues to be between July 12 and July 19. "We are aiming for the earlier part of this launch window, instead of pushing it to the latter part," he added.