A huge achievement for all Indian citizens , as ISRO launched its heaviest satellite onboard an Indian rocket on Sunday (November 2, 2025), when the heavy-lift LVM3M5 vehicle will carry a 4,410 kg communication satellite to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This will be the heaviest satellite to be launched from Indian soil and into a GTO, the space agency said. Also, this is ISRO’s heaviest satellite to be launched using a home-made rocket. – THE HINDU.
The Bengaluru-headquartered space agency was https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/countdown-begins-for-launch-of-isros-heaviest-communication-satellite-cms-03-for-military-on-november-2/article70230682.eceutilising launch vehicles provided by France-headquartered Arianespace for launching over 4,000 kg heavy satellites from French Guiana. ISRO had previously launched its heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 on December 5, 2018, from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by Ariane-5 VA-246 rocket. It weighed about 5,854 kg.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES :
At precisely 5:26PM IST, the 43.5-metre-tall LVM3-M5 thundered off the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, its twin S200 solid boosters firing with 5,000 kN of thrust.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/bahubali-roars-into-space-watch-the-moment-as-isros-lvm3-m5-lifts-indias-heaviest-home-built-satellite-cms-03/articleshow/125033721.cms?from=md . With this, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has once again demonstrated its ability to launch large communication satellites directly from Indian soil—without depending on foreign launch services.
The successful flight of the LVM3-M5 is the rocket’s fifth operational mission and another milestone in ISRO’s growing list of precision launches.
WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL ?
The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) — previously called GSLV Mk-III — is the most powerful rocket currently operated by India. With a massive lift-off weight of around 642 tonnes, it is capable of carrying nearly 4 tonnes of payload to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and about 8 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
It earned the nickname ‘Bahubali’ due to its enormous power and might, similar to the legendary warrior from Indian folklore. The rocket consists of three stages:
- Two S200 solid boosters that generate the huge thrust needed at liftoff
- L110 liquid core stage powered by two Vikas engines
- C25 cryogenic upper stage responsible for placing satellites into GTO
A member of the same launch vehicle series was used for the Chandrayaan-3 mission in 2023, which made India the first nation to successfully achieve a soft landing near the Moon’s south pole.