The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III, christened “Fat Boy”, lifted off from the Sriharikota space center in southern India on June 5, 2017. At 6,914 lb, or more than three tonnes, and the height of a 13-story building, the GSAT-19 satellite is the heaviest that India has tried to put in orbit, India’s Space Research Organization said. The rocket used a cryogenic engine developed in India.
“GSLV Mk III has put GSAT 19, which is a next generation satellite, into orbit,” Indian Space Research Organization chief A.S. Kiran Kumar said. “It is a perfect launch. The information from the satellite is being tracked. And it is good.”
A 2015 report by Colorado-based nonprofit organization Space Foundation pegged the global space industry at $323 billion, says Reuters. India’s share of the global launch services industry is about 0.6 percent, government data shows.
