ICCK

A new heavy-lift rocket, scheduled to launch for the first time on June 5, is powerful enough to carry humans into orbit.

India has been growing its space industry by leaps and bounds in recent years. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country's national space agency, has been launching dozens of satellites into orbit on their Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), including a record-breaking 104 satellites at once on a flight in February.

And it's all culminating in the launch of the ISRO's new heavy launch vehicle known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III. The GSLV Mk III is powerful enough to carry extra-large satellites or even astronauts into space. If the upcoming flight tests are successful, the GSLV Mk III could enable India to become the fourth country in the world with a human spaceflight program.

The GSLV Mk III is also one of only a handful of rockets in the world capable of carrying extremely large payloads. There are only about a half-dozen other rockets capable of the same amount of thrust, so GSLV Mk III is joining a very exclusive club.

The GSLV Mk III has already undergone a number of successful suborbital test flights, and on Monday June 5, it will launch a communications satellite into space for the first time. If successful, the flight will also launch the next stage of India's spaceflight program.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a26718/india-heavy-rocket-isro-human-astronauts/