NEW DELHI, India
The Indian Space Research Organization launched its heaviest ever rocket Thursday that could one day be used for a manned space mission.
The Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, a small island off the eastern Indian coast at 9:30 a.m., local time.
It carried around 4,000 kilograms (8818.5 pounds) of payload that included a muffin-shaped-module capable of hosting a human crew.
At its peak, the test rocket reached a height of 78 miles (126 kilometers), after which it ejected different sections of its boosters over the Andaman Sea, about 994 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Sriharikota, the space agency said in a statement on its website.
“This was a very significant day in the history of Indian space program,” Indian Space Research Organization Chairman K Radhakrishnan said.
Radhakrishnan said all systems performed as expected.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists on the successful launch.
“The successful launch of the GSLV Mk-III is yet another triumph of brilliance and hard work of our scientists. Congrats to them for the efforts,” Modi said.
India has launched several geostationary satellites for the Indian National Satellite System series before using the European Space Agency and Ariane rockets.
This was, however, the first time India tested a module capable of carrying human crew to space.
Geostationary satellites remain fixed in position relative to a point on earth.
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