GSLV

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

The new MK III had its maiden launch on Thursday 18 Dec 2014

The 630-tonne GSLV Mk. 3 can lift 10 metric ton LEO or four metric tons to GSO

The rocket was carrying an unmanned demo Indian-made crew capsule

CARE

The Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment(CARE) is a demo capsule for this test flight checking the workings of the craft’s heat shield made of ablative material and carbon phenolic tiles. The heat shield encountering temperatures of near 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit during its descent and then splashed down in the Bay of Bengal off India’s east coast 20 minutes after liftoff.

The full version of the capsule is designed to carry up to three astronauts into space when ready to fly with astronauts in the 2020s.

The next strategy is to develop a more powerful indigenous engine,

which may lead to a goal to launch a manned mission to the moon.