India launched its heaviest ever communication satellite yesterday, the latest step in the country's ambitious space programme.The CMS-03 satellite blasted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh at 5.26pm. ‘Our space sector continues to make us proud!’ said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040. Weighing about 4,410kgs, it is ‘the heaviest communication satellite’ launched in the country, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.The Indian Navy said the satellite would help ‘secure communication links between ships, aircraft, submarines’.
