The GSLV Mk III rocket carried a satellite weighing more than three tonnes into a high orbit above Earth, a landmark achievement as India had struggled to match the heavier payloads of other space giants.
india successfully launched its heaviest-ever rocket GSLV-Mk III on Monday which it hopes will eventually be able to carry astronauts into space, a feat that only Russia, the United States and China have achieved, space agency ISRO said
The Indian Space Research Organization said the 43-metre (140-foot) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III rocket lifted off at 5:28 pm from the space launch centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, and placed a communication satellite into orbit.
Scientists hugged each other and cheered as the 640-tonne rocket lifted off.
The space agency’s director, AS Kiran Kumar, said it is the heaviest rocket and satellite to be launched from India. The rocket is powered by an indigenous engine that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as fuel, he said.
In the past, India has used French rockets to launch its heavier communication satellites.
Indian space scientists worked “relentlessly for decades and for this project since 2002 to successfully put the satellite into orbit”, Kumar said. “This is a historic day for ISRO.”
India hopes the launch of the satellite, which weighs 3,136 kilograms (6,914 pounds), will expand its commercial launch business.
The rocket boasts a powerful engine that has been developed in India over many years. Programme managers hope to reduce reliance on European engines that have propelled some of India’s spacecraft in the past.
Cover by Hindustan time
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