India's largest rocket launched successfully
Taking an important step towards sending humans into space, India successfully flight tested the atmospheric re-entry of an experimental unmanned rocket after its heaviest launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III blasted off yesterday.
After its lift-off from Sriharikota in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the 42.4 m expendable rocket of Indian Space Research Organization ascended to the sky with a one-way ticket as its design life span is just around five minutes.
The Rs 155- crore mission tests the rocket's atmospheric flight stability powered by two engines with around four-tonne luggage.
Just over five minutes into the flight, the rocket threw out the giant cupcake shaped crew module at an altitude of 126 km.
The crew module was navigated by remote-control and made to re-enter the atmosphere at a massive velocity. It was slowed down with massive parachutes, the largest ever to be used by India, before it plunged into the Bay of Bengal.
If India can send astronauts to space using an indigenous rocket, it will become the fourth country in the world to have the technology of sending humans into space, after the United States, Russia and China.
ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishan said “India started development of the rocket a decade ago and today completed the first experimental flight. The performance of the solid and the liquid engines were as expected.”
Yesterday's test came after successful launch India's Mars mission last year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO scientists for the successful test flight of the rocket.
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