Isro’s most powerful rocket to be launched in June

India plans to launch its most powerful rocket next month which is capable of transporting a four-tonne communications satellite. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) views operationalisation of this rocket as a “game-changer” mission.

Aiming for a greater share of the multi-billion dollar global space market and to reduce dependency on international launching vehicles, the Isro on Friday said it is hoping to launch the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark-III in the first week of June.

A successful launch of this rocket will be yet another major step towards being self-reliant in the country’s space programme.

The Isro currently has the capability to launch payloads of up to 2.2 tonnes into the intended orbit and for anything above that, it had to tap foreign launch facilities.

“GSLV Mark-III is our next launch. We are getting ready. All the systems are in Sriharikota. The integration is currently going on,” Isro Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said.

“The whole process of assembling the various stages and then integrating the satellite into the heat shield – these activities are going on. First week of June is when we are targeting this launch,” he said. GSLV Mark-III will be India’s most powerful launch vehicle built to lift the heaviest Indian communications satellites to space.

It can put satellites weighing four-tonnes in space, double the weight that the current GSLV-Mark-II can lift.

It will also enable Isro to launch from India, heavier communications spacecraft to geostationary orbits of 36,000 km.