India successfully launched its heaviest-ever rocket GSLV-Mk III on Monday which it hopes will eventually be able to carry astronauts into space, a feat that only Russia, the United States and China have achieved, space agency ISRO said. The space agency’s director, AS Kiran Kumar, said it is the heaviest rocket and satellite to be launched from India. Indian space scientists worked “relentlessly for decades and for this project since 2002 to successfully put the satellite into orbit”, Kumar said. “This is a historic day for ISRO.”Read | ISRO launches GSLV-MK III: Scientists call India’s heaviest rocket ‘Bahubali’India hopes the launch of the satellite, which weighs 3,136 kilograms (6,914 pounds), will expand its commercial launch business. In November 2013, India launched a space probe that has been orbiting Mars since September 2014.

Source: Hindustan Times June 05, 2017 14:10 UTC