India has launched a new communications satellite, CMS-03, into orbit. It is the heaviest spacecraft ever built by the country, weighing 4,410 kg. The launch was successful.
New Indian communications satellite
India’s space agency will launch its heaviest communications satellite on its largest launch vehicle on Sunday, marking the latest step in an ambitious space technology and development program.
The CMS-03 communications satellite, weighing about 4,410 kilograms (9,722 pounds), is the “heaviest communications satellite” launched in the country, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said Thursday. The launch will take place in Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh at 5:26 pm (1156 GMT) on Sunday, ISRO said.
Launched into orbit from a 43.5-meter (143-foot) tall LVM3-M5 high-lift vehicle, the satellite will provide services over a “wide oceanic region, including the Indian subcontinent,” ISRO said. This is an upgraded version of the rocket that launched the unmanned spacecraft that landed on the Moon in August 2023.
India’s space ambitions
Only Russia, the United States, and China have previously achieved controlled landings on the surface of the Moon. India’s space program has grown significantly in size and pace since it first sent a probe into lunar orbit in 2008.
The world’s most populous country has demonstrated its ambitions in the space industry over the past decade, with its space program growing significantly in size and pace of development. It has announced plans to launch an unmanned orbital mission ahead of its first manned space flight in early 2027.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
According to phys.org
