Heaviest satellite to be launched from India

By _shalini oraon

the heaviest satellite launched from India.

A Colossus in the Cosmos: The Story of India’s Heaviest Satellite and the Rocket That Carried It

In the annals of India’s space exploration, a story woven with threads of audacious ambition and meticulous engineering, certain milestones stand as towering testaments to the nation’s growing prowess. Among these, the launch of the heaviest satellite from Indian soil represents a pivotal chapter. It is a tale not just of a single satellite, but of the powerful launch vehicle that made it possible, marking India’s confident entry into the heavy-lift league of global space players.

The title of the heaviest satellite ever launched from India belongs to GSAT-11, a next-generation communication satellite. Weighing in at a colossal 5,854 kilograms, this high-throughput powerhouse was launched aboard an Ariane 5 VA-246 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on December 5, 2018. However, to understand the true significance of this milestone, one must look beyond this flight and to the subsequent mission that demonstrated India’s ability to launch such behemoths from its own backyard.

GSAT-11: The Heavyweight Champion

While GSAT-11 holds the record for mass, its launch from French Guiana means the feat of placing it in orbit was achieved by a European rocket. The satellite itself is a marvel of Indian engineering. Built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), GSAT-11 is the forefather of India’s high-speed digital connectivity revolution.

Designed to be operational for 15 years, its primary mission was to augment and eventually revolutionize broadband services across the Indian subcontinent. With 32 user and 8 gateway beams in the Ka-band and 2 beams in the Ku-band, GSAT-11 provides an unprecedented high data throughput of 16 Gbps. In practical terms, this means it has the capacity to bridge the digital divide, delivering high-speed internet to remote, underserved villages, enabling digital education and telemedicine, and supporting in-flight and maritime connectivity. It is, in essence, a geostationary data superhighway, 36,000 kilometers above the Earth.

The Indigenous Leap: GSAT-29 and the GSLV Mk III

The true watershed moment in the narrative of India’s heaviest satellite came not with GSAT-11’s launch from Kourou, but with the launch of GSAT-29 on November 14, 2018. Weighing 3,423 kilograms, GSAT-29 was not the absolute heaviest, but its launch was historic because it was the heaviest satellite launched by India from Indian soil at that time, and it was carried by India’s own indigenously developed marvel: the GSLV Mk III-M1, affectionately nicknamed “Bahubali.”

This distinction is crucial. Launching a foreign-built satellite is an achievement; designing, building, and launching your own heavy satellite with your own heavy-lift rocket is a declaration of self-reliant capability. The GSLV Mk III, India’s most powerful launch vehicle to date, was the star of this show. Standing 43.4 meters tall, with a liftoff mass of 640 tonnes, this vehicle was specifically designed to break India’s dependence on foreign launch facilities for its heavier communication satellites.

The success of the GSAT-29 mission proved that the GSLV Mk III was not just a demonstrator but an operational workhorse. It validated years of research and development into the powerful S200 solid rocket boosters and the critical CE-20 cryogenic upper stage engine, which uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen—a complex technology that had long been a hurdle for ISRO.

Why “Heaviest” Matters: The Strategic Imperative

The drive to launch ever-heavier satellites is not merely a quest for bragging rights; it is a strategic and economic imperative with profound implications.

1. Communication and National Development: Modern communication satellites like GSAT-11 and GSAT-29 are packed with advanced transponders and powerful antennas. Heavier mass allows for larger solar panels to generate more power and more robust payloads, directly translating to greater bandwidth, wider coverage, and longer operational lifespans. This is the backbone of a nation’s digital infrastructure, critical for security, disaster management, and economic growth.
2. Commercial Viability and Self-Reliance: Before the GSLV Mk III proved its mettle, India had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to European launch providers like Arianespace to launch its heavy communication satellites. The ability to launch these satellites domestically represents a massive saving in foreign exchange and places ISRO’s commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), in a strong position in the global commercial launch market. It transforms a cost center into a potential revenue generator.
3. Enabling Deep Space Exploration: The capability to lift heavy payloads is not limited to launching communication satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). It is the same capability required for ambitious interplanetary missions. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which successfully landed on the Moon’s south pole, was launched by the GSLV Mk III. Future missions, including the planned Gaganyaan human spaceflight program and probes to Venus and Mars, will all ride on the shoulders of this heavy-lift vehicle. The capacity to launch heavy satellites is, therefore, synonymous with the capacity to explore the cosmos.

The Future: Pushing the Boundaries Further

The record for the heaviest satellite launched by India is not a static title. ISRO is continuously innovating. The GSLV Mk III has a payload capacity of about 4,000 kg to GTO, and plans are already underway for its successor, the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which aims to carry 5,000 kg to 8,000 kg to GTO and be partially reusable, dramatically reducing launch costs.

Furthermore, the line between satellite and space station module is blurring with projects like the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (Indian Space Station), planned for 2035. Each module of this station will essentially be a heavy satellite launched from India and assembled in orbit.

In conclusion, the story of the heaviest satellite launched from India is a narrative in two parts. The first is crowned by GSAT-11, the colossal communication hub that represents the “what”—the sophisticated end-product of ISRO’s technological vision. The second, and arguably more significant, is defined by the GSLV Mk III and missions like GSAT-29, which represent the “how”—the indigenously developed, powerful means to an end. Together, they symbolize India’s arrival as a full-stack space power: a nation capable of not only conceiving advanced orbital assets but also of building the mighty rockets to place them in the sky, on its own terms. This capability ensures that India’s voice, data, and ambitions will continue to resonate powerfully in the final frontier for decades to come.