BLAST OFF

India Launches Largest Rocket Yet

As well as unmanned capsule.

India launched its largest rocket yet along with an unmanned capsule that could carry heavier satellites and later send two to three astronauts into space. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully took off from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh early Thursday. The successful test flight signals India’s potential to become the world’s fourth country to send astronauts into space, further enhancing its emerging space program—it launched a satellite into orbit around Mars in September. “It is a very significant day in India’s space history,” said K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space and Research Organization.