India launched its newest, most powerful and heaviest rocket on Thursday, in a step towards a manned space mission. Until now, India has to relied on foreign launchers to send heavier satellites into space.
"The most important part is this that it is one of the heaviest launch vehicles we have ever developed, weighing 630 tons," mission director S. Somnath said. "The technology that went in developing this vehicle is putting two big boosters which puts very tight requirement of controlling its differential cost and its delay in performance which we achieved so beautifully in this mission."
The 630-ton Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off at 9.30 a.m. local time in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, the new rocket will be able to carry communication satellites weighing 4,000 kilograms.
This launch could also make India more competitive in the multimillion dollar commercial launch market.
source:cctvnews.com
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