India has successfully launched its first rocket using domestically produced booster technology after several previous missions had failed, taking another step forward in its ambitious space program.
The Indian-made cryogenically-powered rocket blasted off from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota as scheduled, as Delhi tries to join an elite club of countries which have mastered the complex technology.
The 415-tonne rocket deployed a two-tonne advanced communications satellite some 17 minutes after blast-off, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan.
"I am extremely proud and happy to say that Team ISRO has done it," Radhakrishnan announced on Sunday at mission control in Andhra Pradesh state, sparking a roar of applause from colleagues.
"Team ISRO and the project directors all have put their heart and soul in making this proud moment for the country," he said.
India has for years been trying to develop its own cryogenic rocket engines that are designed to put heavier satellites into high orbits, about 36,000km from Earth.
The powerful booster technology, using super-cooled liquid fuel, is a much needed tool to help India capture a larger share of the lucrative global market for launching commercial satellites.
But the technology has only been successfully developed by a handful of countries including the US, Russia, France, Japan and China as well as the European Space Agency.
India's project has had to overcome a string of hurdles and mishaps, including an aborted launch in August last year several hours before lift-off after fuel was found to be leaking from one of the rocket's engines.
The first India-built rocket crashed into the Bay of Bengal just minutes after take-off in April 2010 after the cryogenic engines failed to ignite.
