Isro launches ‘CMS-03’, heaviest satellite into orbit

IN YETANOTHER demonstration of its steadily improving capabilities, ISRO Sunday launched a powerful communication satellite CMS-03, the heaviest to be carried by any Indian rocket so far. The 4,410kg satellite will primarily serve the purposes of the Indian Navy, augmenting its spacebased communications and maritime domain awareness capabilities.

- AMITABH SINHA

ISRO has launched a satellite that was heavier than this. The GSAT-11 launched in 2018 weighed over 5,800 kg but had used the European Ariane-5 rocket. ISRO had been relying on the European rocket for sending all its heavier satellites, weighing more than 3,000 kg. With CMS-03, ISRO has demonstrated the heavylift capability of the LVM3 rocket, the same one that had launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission in July 2023.