The Indian Space Research Organization launched its heaviest rocket Monday in hopes that the spacecraft will one day carry Indian astronauts to space.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III (GSLV Mark III) launched at 5:28 p.m. IST Monday — approximately 8 a.m. EST — from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the region of Andhra Pradesh off the country’s southeastern coast.
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The rocket, which ISRO describes as a "three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle," is designed to carry heavy satellites into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), a high Earth orbit 22,236 miles above the planet's equator.
According to Space.com, the GTO helps satellites match the Earth's rotation and is a prime location for monitoring weather, communications and surveillance.
The GSLV Mk III can carry up to 4,000 kilograms, almost double the previous capacity available to ISRO, CNN reported.
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India hopes the successful launch of the GSLV Mark III satellite and rocket, which together weigh more than 640 tons (equivalent to the weight of 200 fully-grown elephants or five fully-loaded Boeing Jumbo Jets), will one day take Indians to space.
Until now, according to CNN, only the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency had successfully launched rockets weighing more than three tons.
And before Monday’s big launch, India had relied on launching its satellites from abroad.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the satellite’s weight as 640 tons. The weight is attributed to the rocket and its compartments, including the satellites.
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