INDIA's space agency on Wednesday launched its heaviest-ever payload, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the deployment “a significant stride” for the space sector.
The LVM3-M6 rocket placed the US-built AST SpaceMobile communications satellite into low Earth orbit.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it was the “heaviest payload to be launched from Indian soil”.
The launch comes as India advances its space programme, including plans for an uncrewed orbital mission and human spaceflight in the coming years.
The satellite weighs 6,100 kilograms (13,448 pounds) and was carried on a modified version of the rocket that India plans to use for future space missions.
India is seeking a larger share of the commercial satellite market as demand grows from phone, internet and other communications providers.
Modi said the launch marked “a proud milestone in India’s space journey”.
“It strengthens India’s heavy-lift launch capability and reinforces our growing role in the global commercial launch market,” he said in a statement.
Earlier this year, ISRO launched the CMS-03 communication satellite, which weighs about 4,410 kilograms.
For heavy launches, India has used an upgraded version of the rocket that carried an unmanned mission to the Moon in August 2023.
India has expanded its space programme over the past decade and has said it plans to launch an uncrewed orbital mission before its first human spaceflight in 2027.
Modi has also announced plans to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
