India’s space agency ISRO launches its heaviest-ever payload, a 6,100kg US satellite, marking a major step in its low-cost commercial space ambitions.
NEW DELHI: India’s space agency has successfully launched its heaviest-ever payload, marking a major advancement for its low-cost space programme.
The LVM3-M6 rocket carried the US-built AST SpaceMobile communications satellite into low-Earth orbit on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the deployment as “a significant stride” for the nation’s space sector.
The Indian Space Research Organisation confirmed it was the “heaviest payload to be launched from Indian soil”.
The satellite weighs 6,100 kilograms and was launched on a modified version of a rocket intended for future missions.
This launch strengthens India’s bid for a larger share of the booming commercial satellite business.
Modi said the milestone “reinforces our growing role in the global commercial launch market”.
The mission utilised an upgraded version of the rocket that sent an unmanned craft to the Moon in August 2023.
India’s space programme has expanded significantly in the past decade, rivalling established powers at a lower cost.
The nation plans an uncrewed orbital mission ahead of its first human spaceflight targeted for 2027.
Modi has also announced ambitions to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
