ISRO GSLV Mk 3 Rocket Launch Live Updates: GSAT-19 satellite successfully launched; PM, President congratulate scientists

ISRO GSLV Mk 3 Rocket Launch: The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV MkIII) is all set to ferry the GSAT-19 communications satellite into space.

ISRO GSLV Mk 3 Rocket Launch: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its heaviest-ever rocket with a strapped-on satellite today. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV MkIII) ferried the GSAT-19 communications satellite into space. GSAT-19, the 3,136 kg communication satellite, is aimed to bring a massive change in the communications mechanism system of the country.

Here are all the live updates on the successful launch:

8.23 pm: Jubilant ISRO scientists on Monday hailed the success of GSLV MKIII-D1, giving it names such as “Bahubali” and “obedient boy”.

8.15 pm: “Proud to say ISRO has given birth to a Bahubali,” said Tapan Misra, director of Space Applications Centre (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as chuckles broke out at the mission control centre here.

8.00 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today congratulated the ISRO for the successful launch of GSLV MKIII-D1, saying it was another significant achievement which has made the nation proud. In a message, Gandhi said the ISRO had kept up the tradition of excellence in space sciences.

Read | ISRO GSLV Mk 3 rocket launch powers GSAT-19 satellite into space; watch video

7:45PM: Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said, “This month there are lot of activities. On June 23, there will be a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and on June 28, a GSAT-17 satellite launch,” he added.

7:40PM: Precisely at 5.28 p.m., the rocket began its ascent towards space from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at the Sriharikota spaceport here and just over 16 minutes into its flight, slung the GSAT-19 at its intended orbit at an altitude of 179 km.

7:30PM: While Indian space scientists named the 640 tonne rocket “fat boy”, the Telugu media nicknamed it “Bahubali”, as like the hero in the massively successful film lifts a heavy Lingam, it carried the heaviest satellite by an Indian rocket.

7:20PM: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today congratulated the ISRO officials for the successful launch of the indigenously-developed GSLV-Mk III, India’s heaviest rocket. “The country feels proud with the ISRO’s successful launch,” Rao said in an official release. The chief minister further said that today’s successful launch was yet another milestone in the ISRO’s achievements.

7:10PM: Our focus is to achieve 12 launches per year. We had done 199 tests for today’s launch of GSLV MARK III since December 2014. Our immediate task is to improve launch frequency, says ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar

7:00PM: It was a textbook launch as every stage of the three-stage GSLV MkIII with indegeneous cryogenic engine performed well.

6:55PM: The GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads or satellites weighing upto 4,000 kgs into the GTO and 10,000kgs into the Low Earth Orbit.

6:50PM: Today’s GSLV mission is significant for India as ISRO had been depending on foreign launchers for orbiting communication satellites weighing more than 2,300 kgs.

6:45PM: A 2015 Space Foundation report pegged the global space industry at $323 billion. India’s share of global launch services industry is about 0.6 percent, government data shows.

6:40PM: In May, India launched a communications satellite for its South Asian neighbours to share, part of its efforts to build goodwill in the region.

6:35PM: In 2014, scientists first flew the GSLV Mk III and checked the working of an unmanned crew module on the vehicle, suggesting that it would be the launch platform for a manned mission in future.

6:30PM: NDA government led by PM Modi has been promoting a home-grown space programme as a demonstration of low-cost technology and in February it launched 104 satellites in a single mission, most of them for foreign customers.

6:25PM: The United States, Russia, China, Japan and European Space Agency have the capability to launch satellites weighing more than three tonnes.

6:20PM: Successful launch of GSLV-MKIII D1/GSAT-19 will put India at the forefront of space technology. Congratulations to the scientists at ISRO: Amit Shah

6:16PM: The Indian space agency officials said the new rocket would save the country foreign exchange as it can launch the country’s communication satellites instead of going to a foreign space agency for launch services. The GSAT-18 satellite launched in 2016 using Arianespace’s rocket weighed 3,404 kg which is well within the GSLV-Mk III’s capacity.

6:13PM: India presently has two rockets — the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and GSLV-Mk II — with a lift-off mass of 415 tonnes and a carrying capacity of 2.5 tonnes. India puts foreign satellites into orbit for a fee using its lighter rocket PSLV. However the weight of third party satellites is not much. Revenue for launching satellites depends on the satellite’s weight – higher the weight, higher the revenue.

6:10PM: Interestingly, GSLV-Mk III at around 43 metres is slightly shorter than Mk-II version that is around 49 metres tall. ISRO officials told IANS that due to the increase in the diameters of various stages, the height got reduced despite a drastic increase in the weight – from around 415 ton of GSLV-Mk II to 640 ton in GSLV-Mk III.

6:07PM: The GSLV-Mk III is a three stage/engine rocket. The core of first stage is fired with solid fuel and its two motors by liquid fuel. The second is liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine. The Indian space agency had flown a similar rocket without the cryogenic engine but with 3.7-tonne payload in 2014 mainly to test its structural stability and aerodynamics.

Also Read: ISRO’s GSLV Mark III mega-rocket to launch GSAT-19 satellite today; All you need to know about the game-changing mission

6:04PM: The satellite, which has a life span of 10 years, also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including miniaturised heat pipe, a fibre optic gyro, micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer, Ku-band TTC transponder, as well an indigenous lithium-ion battery.

6:01PM: The GSAT-19, as per the Indian Space Research Organisation is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka and Ku band forward and return link transponders and geostationary radiation spectrometer (GRASP) to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.

Also read: ISRO launches GSAT-19 satellite; Here is a look at India’s big space successes

5:58PM: Just over 16 minutes into its flight, the 43.43 metre tall, 640 ton rocket, slung the GSAT-19 at its intended orbit at an altitude of 179 km.

5:55PM: Heartiest congratulations to ISRO on historic launch of GSLV-Mk III. Nation is proud of this significant achievement: President Mukherjee

5:51PM: I take this opportunity to congratulate the entire team which worked on this project: ISRO Chief Kiran Kumar

5:48PM: Congratulations to the dedicated scientists of ISRO for the successful launch of GSLV – MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission: PM Modi

5:45PM: PM Modi: The GSLV – MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission takes India closer to the next generation launch vehicle and satellite capability. The nation is proud! Read here

ISRO launches its most powerful rocket GSLV Mark III carrying GSAT-19 communication satellite from Sriharikota, AP #GSLVMK3 pic.twitter.com/3Tnme9Qlz5 — ANI (@ANI_news) June 5, 2017

5.43 pm: Launch of ISRO GSLV Mark III carrying GSAT-19 communication satellite was successful. ISRO Chairman Kiran Kumar calls it a historic launch.

5.36 pm: The launch of satellite has been marked as successful by the ISRO. All phases in the launched have been marked as normal.

Also Read: ISRO GSLV Mk 3 Rocket Launch: GSAT-19 satellite to move space agency from cheaper-than-Hollywood-film Mars mission milestone to heaviest lift-off ever

5.34 pm: ISRO launches GSLV Mark III carrying GSAT-19 communication satellite from Sriharikota, AP

5.28 pm: ISRO GSLV Mk 3 blasts off from Sriharikota.

5.25 pm: In 2014, ISRO had successfully tested the Crew module Atmospheric Reentry experiment with the flight GSLV MkIII. The module after making its re-entry deployed its

parachutes as planned and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.

5.23 pm; The GSLV-Mk III-D1 is a three-stage vehicle with indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine designed to carry heavier communication satellites into the GTO.

5.20 pm: Today’s mission would augment India’s communication resources as a single GSAT-19 satellite will be equivalent to having a constellation of six to seven of the older variety of communication satellites.

5.18 pm: Scientists say the rocket could be used in the future to carry an astronaut into space, something that only Russia, the United States and China have done. India hopes the successful launch of the satellite, which weighs 3,136 kilograms (6,914 pounds), will expand its commercial launch business. In the past, India has used French rockets to launch its heavier communication satellites.

5.15 pm: GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads (or satellites) of upto 4,000kgs into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000kg into the Low Earth Orbit.

5.14 pm: ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar had said the mission is important as “it was the heaviest-ever rocket and satellite to be launched from the country”.

5.01 pm: Till now, ISRO had to depend on foreign launchers for communication satellites weighing more than 2,300 kg. The GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit.

5.00 pm: Watch | A glimpse into ISRO GSLV Mk 3 Rocket Launch.

4.46 pm: The 25-and-half hour countdown began yesterday at 3.58 pm and was “progressing normally”. Scientists were currently involved in the propellant filling operations of the heaviest

4.45 pm: The rocket is scheduled for a lift off at 5.28 pm from second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota about 120kms from Chennai.

4.30 pm: ISRO will soon launch GSAT 19 satellite from Sriharikota, the launch is scheduled for 5.30 pm.

4.28 pm; The LIVE telecast of the launch will be aired on official ISRO website and DD National.