India touched another proud milestone in space today. ISRO has placed its heaviest communication satellite CMS-03 safely into its planned orbit. The mission lifted off on the mighty LVM3 rocket, India’s most powerful launcher, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
CMS-03 is built to serve India for at least 15 years, offering strong and reliable communication services across the country and surrounding ocean regions. This means better internet, better communication links for disaster response and stronger support for national services.
The star of the day was the LVM3 rocket earlier known as GSLV Mk-III. This heavy-duty machine uses three types of engines (solid, liquid, and cryogenic) working together with perfect timing. It can lift up to 8,000 kg into low-earth orbit and 4,000 kg into the much higher geosynchronous orbit, around 36,000 km from Earth.
#WATCH | Sriharikota | The launch of ISRO’s LVM3-M5 carrying the CMS-03 communication satellite from SDSC/ISRO Sriharikota.
Indian Navy’s GSAT 7R (CMS-03) communication satellite today would be the most advanced communication satellite thus far for the Indian Navy. The satellite… pic.x.com/nzWZWS94RK
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2025
LVM3 has now flown seven times, and every single time, it has hit its mark. It is also the rocket that carried India’s Moon missions Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3.
The massive rocket weighing 642 tonnes and standing 43.5 metres tall took off with a roar. Within about 16 minutes, CMS-03 was placed into the perfect path around Earth known as a Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit.
ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan celebrated the achievement, calling the satellite “a shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat.” He highlighted that CMS-03 carries new Indian-made technologies and reflects the nation’s growing ability to design, build, and launch advanced space systems on its own.