‘LMV3 will free India from dependence on foreign launchers’

India’s next generation satellite launcher LVM3 being developed by ISRO will free the country from dependence on foreign launchers in sending heavy communication satellites to orbits, former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday.

Speaking after being conferred with honoris causa DSc by Mahatma Gandhi University here, the eminent space scientist said the LVM3, whose developmental flight with a fully functional cryogenic stage is targeted in 2016-17, will also attract a share of global market.

"Recently we crossed a significant milestone in the development of next generation launcher LVM3 that will not only free us within two years from dependence on foreign launchers for our heavy communication satellites, but also attract a share of global market. Also, the unmanned crew module experiment opened up a new direction in space exploration," Radhakrishnan said.

He was referring to the first experimental flight of LVM3, carrying the CARE payload, which lifted off from Sriharikota on December 18, 2014, and successfully tested the atmospheric phase of flight.