New Delhi, Jul 22 (IANS): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday hailed India's second lunar mission after the 'Babubali' GSLV rocket successfully put moon spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 into the orbit in a copy book style.

"Chandrayaan-2 has been successfully launched this afternoon at around 2.43 p.m. from Sriharikota. This shows the capability and power of Indian scientists," Birla said during the proceedings of the Lower House.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) blasted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota spaceport at exactly 2.43 p.m. to begin its ascent into space.

About 16 minutes into its flight, the rocket put into orbit Chandrayaan-2 to begin its 48-day journey to the Moon.

The success of Chandrayaan-2 mission will make India the fourth country in the world to land a vehicle and travel on the Moon surface after the US, Russia and China.