The GSLV-MKIII D1 / GSAT-19 lifted off at 17.28 yesterday from the Sriharikota Space Station in Andhra Pradesh. Prime Minister Modi: "The nation is proud!" Launch reduces dependence on European technology.
New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - India has successfully launched its first rocket completely manufactured in the country. The event confirms Delhi's determination to become the world's foremost economic and technological power. Not only that, the program allows the country to reduce its dependence on European-branded engineering and to compete in all effects as the fourth power that could bring man to space.
The rocket, named GSLV-MKIII D1 / GSAT-19, lifted off at 17:28 yesterday (local time) from the Sriharikota Space Station in Andhra Pradesh, one of the two sites used by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISR). It measures 43 meters in length and weighs 640 tons. It contained a three-ton satellite, one of the heaviest ever placed in a single space mission.
Recalling the importance of the launch for India's image, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "The mission brings India closer to the launch of next-generation devices and satellite capabilities. The nation is proud! " Ajay Lele, of the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyzes in the Union's Capital, confirms: "The launch of an domestically engineered heavy rocket is an important time for Indian space technology.”
From the point of view of competition with the other superpowers, Delhi is increasingly imposing itself as a valid low-cost solution. Its spatial exploration expenditure was "just" $ 73 million, much less than the 671 million spent by NASA for Maven Mars. Last February, it beat the record of orbiting multiple satellites with a single operation - all 104 - beating Russia, which held the primacy with 39 satellites. Previously, in June 2016, it successfully put 20 satellites, both domestic and foreign, into space.