The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the GSLV Mark III-D1 rocket carrying the GSAT-19 communications satellite from the second launch port at Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on Monday.
Both the GSLV rocket and GSAT satellite have been developed and constructed indigenously. The GSLV Mark III is the first satellite to feature an indigenously developed C25 cryogenic stage engine, joining the few nations that have the capability for cryogenic engine development.
The GSLV Mark III carried India’s heaviest satellite, the GSAT-19 weighing in at 3.1 tonnes, into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The rocket is also capable of carrying a maximum of 10 tonnes up to Low Earth Orbit.
The GSAT-19 communications satellite carries high throughput transponders and a Geostationary Radiation Spectrometer (GRASP) payload to monitor study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.