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India successfully launched its biggest ever rocket, including an unmanned capsule which could one day send astronauts into space, as the country ramps up its ambitious space programme.The rocket, designed to carry heavier communication and other satellites into higher orbit, blasted off from Sriharikota in the southeast state of Andhra Pradesh yesterday.

“This was a very significant day in the history of the Indian space programme,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman KS Radhakrishnan said from mission control as fellow scientists clapped and cheered.

ISRO scientists have been riding high since an Indian spacecraft successfully reached Mars in September on a shoe-string budget, winning Asia’s race to the Red Planet and sparking an outpouring of national pride.

Although India has successfully launched lighter satellites in recent years, it has struggled to match the heavier loads sent up by other countries.

The new rocket, weighing 630 tonnes and capable of carrying four tonnes, is a boost for India’s attempts to grab a greater slice of the $300bn global space market.

“India, you have a new launch vehicle with you. We have made it again,” ISRO mission director S Somnath said. – AFP