--- title: India Successfully Launches Its Heaviest Ever Rocket description: The GSLV MK III also had an unmanned capsule capable of carrying two or three astronauts canonical: https://time.com/3639500/india-isro-rocket-launch-success-gslv/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-18T08:22:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:58:07.221Z article:section: World og:title: Liftoff in India og:description: Country launches its heaviest rocket, capable of manned missions. og:url: https://time.com/3639500/india-isro-rocket-launch-success-gslv/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Liftoff in India twitter:description: Country launches its heaviest rocket, capable of manned missions. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # India Successfully Launches Its Heaviest Ever Rocket by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Dec 18, 2014 8:22 AM CUT by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Dec 18, 2014 8:22 AM CUT India added another feather to its space-exploration cap on Thursday, [successfully launching](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30527602 "undefined") the country’s heaviest ever rocket from its Sriharikota base in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The 630-ton Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) MK III carried a capsule capable of launching two or three astronauts into space, the BBC reported. The rocket is also capable of carrying satellites weighing up to 4,000 kg, potentially allowing India to avoid reliance on foreign launchers for its spacecraft. > [](https://twitter.com/isro/status/545435064306106368) According to the Indian Space and Research Organization, the capsule “safely splashed down into the Bay of Bengal.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi [tweeted](https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/545436038986862592 "undefined") his congratulations, calling the launch “yet another triumph of brilliance & hard work of our scientists.” Thursday’s achievement comes about three months after India successfully placed a satellite [into Mars’ orbit](http://time.com/3423985/india-mars-orbiter-mission-mangalyaan-mom-modi-indian-space-research-organization-isro/ "undefined"), becoming only the fourth global power to do so. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3639500/india-isro-rocket-launch-success-gslv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3639500/india-isro-rocket-launch-success-gslv/"},"headline":"India Successfully Launches Its Heaviest Ever Rocket","datePublished":"2014-12-18T08:22:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:58:07.221Z","description":"The GSLV MK III also had an unmanned capsule capable of carrying two or three astronauts","url":"https://time.com/3639500/india-isro-rocket-launch-success-gslv/","keywords":["India","Narendra Modi","rocket","launch"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3639500/india-isro-rocket-launch-success-gslv/","name":"India Successfully Launches Its Heaviest Ever Rocket"}}]}] ```