PM & President Commend ISRO For Launch of Heaviest Rocket

GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads (or satellites) upto 4,000 kgs into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

The 25 and a half hour countdown for the launch of GSLV MkIII, carrying the heaviest communication satellite GSAT-19 by Indian Space Research Organisation till date, commenced at 3.58 PM on Sunday. (Photo: ISRO)

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• ISRO launched the heaviest rocket, GSLV-Mk III D1, on Monday evening from Sriharikota.
  
• The launch freed India from dependence on foreign launchers for communication satellites more than 2,300 kgs.
  
• PM Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee said the launch makes the nation proud.
  
• ISRO chief Kiran Kumar congratulated the team working on the project.

Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 6:20 PM

ISRO's Press Conference After the launch of GSLV-Mk III D1

Watch the video here:

In the press conference, ISRO chief AS Kiran Kumar said:

Our immediate task is to improve launch frequency... Our focus is to achieve 12 launches per year. We had done 199 tests for today’s launch of GSLV MARK III since Dec 2014. 

ISRO chief Kiran Kumar

Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 7:19 PM

Watch The Launch Video Here

Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 6:24 PM

President And PM Modi Say Launch Makes 'Nation Proud'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee took to Twitter to highlight the achievement and congratulate ISRO:

The official Twitter handle of ‘Make in India’, the Prime Minister’s pet project to promote domestic manufacturing, also congratulated ISRO:

Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 6:20 PM

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ISRO Chief Congratulates The Project Team

ISRO chief Kiran Kumar congratulated the team working for the launch of the GSLV-Mk III D1 rocket, saying:

I take this opportunity to congratulate the entire team which worked on this project: 

Tapan Misra, director, Space Applications Centre, referred to the GSLV Mk III as “Bahubali”.

Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 7:18 PM

ISRO Launches Heaviest Rocket

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the heaviest rocket GSLV-Mk III D1 this evening, carrying a 3,136 kg communication satellite, GSAT-19, from the spaceport of Sriharikota.

Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 6:26 PM

Till now, ISRO had to depend on foreign launchers for communication satellites weighing more than 2,300 kg.

The GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit.

ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar had said the mission is important as "it was the heaviest-ever rocket and satellite to be launched from the country".

GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads (or satellites) of upto 4,000 kgs into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000 kgs into the Low Earth Orbit. Earlier, ISRO had launched the 3,404-kg GSAT-18 communication satellite from Ariane, French Guiana. The GSLV-Mk III-D1 is a three-stage vehicle with a indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine designed to carry heavier communication satellites into the GTO. Monday’s mission augmented India's communication resources, as a single GSAT-19 satellite is equivalent to having a constellation of six to seven of the older variety of communication satellites.

In 2014, ISRO had successfully tested the Crew module Atmospheric Reentry experiment with the flight GSLV Mk III. The module, after making its re-entry, deployed its parachutes as planned and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.

(With inputs from ANI)

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Updated at:5th Jun, 2017 at 7:25 PM