India successfully launches its heaviest communications satellite
India successfully placed into orbit on Sunday the heaviest communications satellite ever launched from its territory, marking another milestone in the country’s fast-growing space program, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The satellite, CMS-03, weighs 4.4 tonnes and is designed to improve telecommunications coverage across the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding oceans. It was launched aboard the LVM3-M5 rocket, a new two-stage launcher equipped with twin solid boosters — an upgraded version of the vehicle that delivered India’s lunar lander to the Moon in August 2023.
“The spacecraft has been successfully deployed into its designated orbit,” ISRO chairman V. Narayanan announced to applause at the Sriharikota Space Centre in eastern India.
A new step in India’s space ambitions
With this successful launch, India continues to strengthen its position among global space powers. The country has already achieved remarkable milestones: placing a probe in orbit around Mars in 2014 and landing on the Moon in 2023, joining an elite group that includes Russia, the United States, and China.
ISRO now aims to send an Indian astronaut into orbit by 2027, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared an even bolder objective — to land an Indian on the Moon by 2040.
This latest success underlines India’s determination to become a key player in the global space industry, combining technological innovation with growing geopolitical influence in the new space race.
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