India is poised Monday to join a select number of countries able to claim membership of the “heavy-lift” rocket club when it fires a communication satellite weighing over three tonnes into space.
The launch is being made possible by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III) — known as “fat boy” on account of its size.
Estimated to weigh as much as five fully-loaded Boeing Jumbo jets, or 200 fully grown elephants, the GSLV Mk-III launcher is the heaviest launch vehicle India has ever produced, and considered a potential game changer for the country’s space program.
To date, only the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the European Space Agency have successfully launched so-called “heavy” satellites weighing over three tonnes.
The launch, planned for 5.28 p.m. local time from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, around 120 kilometers from Chennai, will see the “fat boy” rocket carry a 3,136 kg GSAT-19 communications satellite some 36,000 kilometers into space — where it is intended to help bolster the country’s internet connectivity.
The Indian space agency, sees the launch — if successful — as a major step towards its goal of becoming a leading player in the multi-billion dollar global satellite launch market.
“Initially, we launched our satellites from abroad,” said D.P. Karnik, the spokesperson for the Indian Space Research Organization. “The Indian space program is now completely indigenous.”
Previously, India has relied on paying the French to launch its satellites that weighed more than 2,300 kilograms.
The GSLV Mk III can carry up to 4,000 kilograms, which almost doubles the previous capacity available to India’s space program.
In a sense, Monday’s launch marks a journey of independence that has taken 25 years, said Rajeswari Rajagopalan, head of the Nuclear and Space policy initiative at the Observer Research Foundation.
India has long worked towards developing its own cryogenic engine, the upper stage engine technology required to carry heavier communication satellites, as showcased in Monday’s launch.
The rocket’s satellite payload has been designed to improve internet connectivity and speed. However, the launch represents only the first stage in a longer plan, and it will be some time before people see tangible effects on the ground, said Rajagopalan.
India’s space industry has gained global recognition for its affordability and growing track record of successful launches in recent years.
It started with India’s launch of a Mars probe in 2014, for less than it cost to make the Oscar-winning Hollywood space-thriller Gravity.
In February 2017, the space program broke a world record when it launched 104 satellites at once.
Cheap cost of labor and government support has meant that India can put satellites into space at 70% less than rival countries.
Monday’s launch is also viewed as a step towards a potential human space mission in the future, according to Rajagopalan.