Trailing thick white smoke, India's monster home-made rocket GSLV Mk III did a perfect lift-off this afternoon from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The "Naughty boy" of Space Agency ISRO propels India into the big league of space technology. It is also expected to carry astronauts to space one day - perhaps in a little more than seven years. The 640-tonne rocket weighs as much as 200 full-grown Asian elephants or five Jumbo jets. Powered by the cutting-edge indigenously developed cryogenic engine, it was developed over 15 years, at a cost of RS 300 crore.
