Sriharikota: In a flawless night-time lift-off, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday propelled the country’s heaviest communications satellite yet into orbit aboard the upgraded LVM3-M5 rocket—cementing India’s growing self-reliance in high-payload space missions.
The 4,410-kg CMS-03 satellite, now cruising toward a geosynchronous transfer orbit, marks the first time ISRO has independently lofted a communications spacecraft exceeding 4 tonnes from Indian soil. Previously, heavier Indian birds—such as the 5,854-kg GSAT-11 and 4,181-kg GSAT-24 by Arianespace, and the 4,700-kg GSAT-20 booked on a SpaceX Falcon 9—required foreign launchers.
Speaking minutes after separation, ISRO chairman Dr V Narayanan hailed the flight as the eighth consecutive success for the LVM3 programme. “This mission is a shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he declared, noting that CMS-03 introduces new indigenous technologies and is built for a 15-year service life delivering multi-band coverage across the Indian landmass and vast oceanic expanses.
Nicknamed “Bahubali” for its brute strength, the three-stage LVM3 received critical upgrades for this outing. Engineers swapped the earlier C25 cryogenic upper stage for a beefier C32 version, boosting propellant load from 28 tonnes to 32 tonnes and thrust from 20 tonnes to 22 tonnes. The tweaks lifted payload capacity by 10 per cent over the LVM3-M4 that sent Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon, even while injecting CMS-03 into a lower-perigee orbit peaking at 29,970 km.
The heavy-lift workhorse—already proven on Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 and OneWeb constellation deployments—can haul 8 tonnes to low Earth orbit or 4 tonnes to geostationary transfer. Sunday’s mission pushed that GTO envelope to the limit.
Looking ahead, Dr Narayanan revealed plans for seven more launches before March 2026, including another LVM3 flight in December. Preparations are also accelerating for Gaganyaan’s first uncrewed test, which will loft the humanoid robot Vyommitra ahead of three developmental missions paving the way for India’s maiden crewed orbital flight.
With CMS-03 safely on its way, ISRO has not only shattered its own weight record but signalled that India’s most powerful rocket is ready to shoulder even mightier national ambitions.
-
-
-
-
