Sriharikota: In a major boost to its proposed Chandrayaan-II mission and the human flight programme, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) successfully launched its heaviest rocket into space on Wednesday evening.
The 641-tonne Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III rocket, Isro’s fifth generation launch vehicle, carried the GSAT-29, an advanced communication satellite, into space from the spaceport at Sriharikota.
With two successful developmental flights behind it, the GSLV Mk-III was declared operational. Earlier, the 43.5-metre rocket lifted off majestically with a loud noise from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 5.08 pm as scheduled. It is the first heaviest satellite launched from SDSC, Shar, Sriharikota.
Calm weather conditions prevailed at Sriharikota, though the Indian Meteor-ological Department had earlier predicted squally conditions with winds reaching 65 kmph along the south AP coast due to Cyclone Gaja.
The rocket was visible from the Earth for a minute after the launch. Every stage of the rocket separation was celebrated with loud cheers by the scientists in the mission control room.
The loudest cheers reserved for the ignition and shutoff of C-25 engine, the third and crucial stage of the rocket. Seventeen minutes after launch, the rocket placed the communication satellite into a temporary elliptical orbit 190 km above the Earth at this closest point and 35,975 km at its farthest.
Subsequently, the satellite will be taken to a circular geostationary orbit about 36,000 km above the Earth by firing onboard engines in the coming days.
Terming the successful launch as a significant milestone, Isro chairman K. Sivan said, “India has achieved a significant milestone in the space programme. Isro's heaviest rocket has injected the GSAT-29 precisely into the orbit.”
The 27-hour countdown for the launch began at 2.50 pm on Tuesday and the rocket blasted off at 5.08 pm from the spaceport at Sriharikota over 100 km from Chennai.
