LVM3

ISRO

India's heaviest operational launcher — carried Chandrayaan-3 to a soft lunar landing.

LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk III) is ISRO's largest operational launcher, used for both heavy GTO satellites and lunar exploration. It launched Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3, the latter making India the fourth nation to soft-land on the Moon. A human-rated variant, HLVM3, will fly the Gaganyaan crewed program.

Fun facts

LVM3 launched Chandrayaan-3, which landed at the Moon's south pole — making India the 4th country in history to achieve a soft lunar landing.

LVM3's Vikas engines trace their heritage to the European Viking engines used on Ariane 2/3 — technology from the 1970s.

The crewed HLVM3 variant for the Gaganyaan mission will be India's first rocket designed to carry humans to space.

Height

43.5 m

Diameter

4 m

Mass

640 t

Stages

Thrust