India has successfully placed its heaviest satellite to date into orbit, marking a significant advance for the country’s rapidly growing space program and drawing praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced on Wednesday that it had launched the communications satellite AST SpaceMobile, weighing 6.1 tons, into low Earth orbit using the LVM3-M6 launch vehicle. ISRO described the mission as the heaviest payload ever launched from Indian soil.
Prime Minister Modi hailed the achievement as “an important step forward”, saying it strengthens India’s capability to launch heavy rockets and underlines the country’s expanding role in the global commercial space market. The launch comes as India prepares for its first crewed space mission in 2027 and has set the ambitious goal of sending an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
Earlier this month, ISRO also launched another large communications satellite, CMS-03, weighing 4.4 tons. To carry out such missions, the agency uses a modified version of the same rocket platform that was deployed to send an uncrewed spacecraft to the Moon in August 2023.
Over the past decade, India has developed its space sector at remarkable speed, achieving milestones comparable to those of the world’s leading space powers, but at significantly lower cost.
The successful launch of the 6.1-tonne satellite further cements India’s position as a rising force in global space exploration and satellite launch services, while reinforcing its long-term ambitions in human spaceflight and deep-space missions.
Follow the latest news on Google News
