PM Modi congratulates ISRO for successfully launching India's heaviest rocket

Sriharikota, Dec 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated Indian scientists for the successful launch of GSLV Mark-III experimental vehicle.

"Successful launch of GSLV Mk-III is yet another triumph of brilliance."

India's heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mark III) carrying a crew module was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 9.30 am on Thursday.

The three-stage next-generation rocket is 42.4 metres tall, weighs 630 tonne and costs about Rs 160 crore. The rocket can double its capacity of payloads India can take into the space. The country won't need foreign launchers to send its heavy-duty communication satellites to space once the ISRO masters this latest technological innovation.

The heavy-duty cryogenic engine necessary for this rocket is till being developed by the space research agency. The rocket is likely to see a full-fledged launch in a few years.

ISRO said it will be able to fly astronauts into space using indigenous rocket within seven to eight years of getting the government's approval on its astronaut programme. India will become the fourth country after Russia, the United States and China if it succeeds in possessing the technology to send human beings to space.

PTI