INDIA MASTERS ROCKET SCIENCE

"(It is) This vehicle (GSLV-MkIII) is going to launch the Chandrayaan-II and also the manned mission. We are getting prepared for that. -K SIVAN-ISRO chairman

Hope for human flights

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mk III) is India’s most advanced and powerful rocket

Wednesday’s was only the second launch of a GSLV rocket, as compared to the dozens of smaller and lighter PSLV rockets that Isro has sent into space

The big tech increment in GSLV is its cryogenic engine, which uses liquefied gases to eventually extract a far more powerful thrust

It was a cryogenic engine that powered Nasa’s Saturn V rocket, which took Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon

The GSLV Mk-III, along with its sibling Mk-II, is largely seen by scientists as the launch vehicle India will use to send a citizen into space

Beating Gaja

The launch took place amid a threat of worsening weather conditions, thanks to Cyclone Gaja. The cyclone was initially projected to cross the coast between Chennai and the launch site in Sriharikota. But it changed course, allowing the launch to go ahead.

New comms satellite

The GSLV carried satellite GSAT-29, which was released into the orbit roughly 16 minutes after take-off. The satellite is equipped with powerful transponders intended to meet the communication requirements of users in remote areas in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s most powerful rocket lifted off on Wednesday with a 3,423kg satellite that it will sling into the orbit. Here’s why this launch is special for several reasonsGSLV-MkIII D2 rocket carrying the GSAT-29 satellite ahead of its launch at the spaceport at Sriharikota.