Launches
India space agency launches its heaviest satellite into GTO orbit
CMS-03 is the heaviest communication satellite launched in the country to date, and will help secure communications links for the Indian Navy.
![India's LVM3 launch vehicle successfully delivered the CMS-03 communication satellite into GTO orbit on November 2. [ISRO]](/gc8/images/2025/11/05/52654-LVM3-launch-vehicle-370_237.webp)
By BlueShift and AFP |
India launched its heaviest ever communication satellite on the evening of November 2, the latest step in the country's ambitious space program.
The LVM3 launch vehicle blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, transporting the CMS-03 satellite into space.
The satellite successfully entered geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) around 16 minutes later, Space News reported.
The multi-band satellite will provide coverage of India and the wider oceanic region for the Indian Navy, facilitating real-time communications for air defense and strategic command control, per Indian media reports.
![Department of Space secretary and Indian Space Research Organization chairman Dr V Narayanan, center, congratulates the teams involved in the successful November 2 launch of the CMS-03 satellite aboard the LVM3 launch vehicle. [ISRO]](/gc8/images/2025/11/05/52660-india-launch-success-370_237.webp)
![A crowd gathers outside the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh to watch the launch of the LVM3 rocket, carrying the CMS-03 satellite into orbit, in this screenshot taken from a livestream of the launch. [ISRO YouTube channel]](/gc8/images/2025/11/05/52653-india-satellite-launch-370_237.webp)
A video of the launch, streamed live on Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) portals and social media, generated waves of public excitement and national pride, India Today reported.
Scientists erupted in applause inside the ISRO control room, the outlet said, underscoring the significance of the milestone, as crowds cheered outside.
"This successful deployment, carefully documented by onboard cameras, marks the first time an Indian satellite of such mass has been independently placed into orbit from domestic soil, using India’s most powerful rocket," it said.
"Our space sector continues to make us proud!" said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to send an Indian astronaut to the moon by 2040.
New record for India
Weighing about 4,410kg (9,722 pounds), CMS-03 is "the heaviest communication satellite" launched in the country, according to the ISRO.
The Indian Navy said the satellite would help "secure communication links between ships, aircraft, submarines" and land-based command centers, serving as the backbone of its communications network across the Indian Ocean.
It offers significantly expanded coverage and bandwidth, ensuring real-time connectivity even in remote or contested ocean zones, per India Today.
The towering 43.5 meter (143 foot) LVM3 launch vehicle, which delivered the satellite into space, is popularly known as "Bahubali," a Sanskrit word meaning "strong-armed," because of its heavy-lift capability.
It is an upgraded version of the rocket that launched India's unmanned craft that landed on the moon in August 2023.
Only the United States, Russia and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.
The November 2 launch was India’s fourth orbital launch attempt this year, and the fifth operational flight of the LVM3, according to the ISRO.
India has flexed its spacefaring ambitions in the last decade, with its space program growing considerably in size and momentum.
Shubhanshu Shukla, a test pilot with the Indian Air Force, this year became the second Indian to travel to space and the first to reach the International Space Station -- a key step towards India's own crewed mission planned for 2027.