As ISRO called off the launch of Chandrayaan-2 less than an hour before the scheduled blastoff of India’s second mission to the moon early on Monday, hundreds took to Twitter to cheer up the space agency.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the countdown was stopped 56 minutes before the launch as an “abundant precaution” after a “technical snag” was observed in the launch vehicle system. The GSLV Mark III carrying the orbiter, lander, and rover was to take off at 2:51am from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, the country’s only launch site.

That did not deter Indians on Twitter from commending ISRO as they said the space agency’s call to abort the moon mission was a good one.

“Great Identification by the Technical team Precaution was taken by identifying the snag! Hope it will be cleared soon.. Eagerly waiting for your new launch date and time,” Anand Srinivasan tweeted in reply to ISRO’s announcement about the delay.

Twitter user Rita Singh echoed Srinivasan’s feelings as she congratulated the space agency.

“All the best team #ISRO !! Better to be late than to be sorry...We shall await the next lift-off schedule for #Chandrayan2,” Singh posted.

All the best team #ISRO !!👍 Better to be late than to be sorry...We shall await the next lift-off schedule for #Chandrayan2 👍

— Rita Singh (@Rita_2110) July 14, 2019

Some said they were ready to wait as it was “better later than never”.

“We all with you.Don’t worry.Take your time and land successfully on moon.We always support you (sic),” was Aryan Raj’s response to ISRO announcement.

“It’s okay. We got your back,” was Twitter user Colonel Equinox’s post.

Most of the Twitter users praised ISRO for pulling back on time, saying it was a good decision on the part of the scientists.

“It’s okay, a technical fault could lead to a huge disaster. We should be thankful it was detected way before launch. You have worked hard for it, take all the precautions.

All the best, whenever you launch. :),” was Nikhil’s tweet.

“No problem ISRO You are best in world This is all expertise of our scientists that they are looking for every minute technical feature (sic),” Monika Gupta wrote.

“No Problem Sir, But Little Disappointed, We Support You Till The End (sic),” Vamsi Machineni replied with hashtags India and ISRO.

No Problem Sir, But Little Disappointed, We Support You Till The End💖 #india #isro

— Vamsi Machineni (@VamsiMachineni) July 14, 2019

There were four suitable window periods for the launch of Chandrayaan 2 in the month of July – July 15 and 16 and then again during the new moon on July 29 and 30. The launch window on July 15, which is just days before the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong first walking on the moon, was missed.

The launch is unlikely to happen during the next three windows in July. The next window for launch will be in September.

The indigenous mission was first scheduled for March 2018 and delayed four times for making changes in the design of the lander and the orbit in which it would reach the surface of the moon.

First Published: Jul 15, 2019 09:27 IST