India yesterday conducted a successful test of its new GSLV Mk-III X/CARE launch vehicle.

The new rocket is a three-stage affair designed to haul 4,000kg payloads to geosynchronous orbit. The first stage offers uses two S200 Large Solid Booster (LSB) with 200 tonnes of solid propellant apiece. Those boosters straddle the second, liquid-fuelled, stage. Up top is the payload, which on this occasion was given over to a dummy crew capsule called CARE.

The Mk III's cargo capability's aren't top drawer. The European Space Agency's Ariane V is good for 6,950kg, while the USA's Delta IV Heavy can carry just over 14,000kg in its mightiest configuration.

But the GSLV MKIII has more lifting power than the Soyuz 2 and is on par with Space X's Falcon 9.

India has two hopes for the craft. The first is to be self-sufficient in terms of hoisting aloft communications satellites. The second is its own manned space program.

Yesterday's test flight advanced the second goal, as it carried a 3,775kg dummy crew module to a height of 126km, separated it from the rocket and safely landed it by parachute. The flight was, however, sub-orbital, so there's not yet proof the craft can place satellites in the high orbits communications satellites prefer. But the Indian Space Research Organisation says the flight's main aim – testing systems during the in-atmosphere phase of a mission – went swimmingly.

The test will have been watched carefully by space types, as India is building a reputation for operating the thriftiest space program going 'round. Last year, India launched its Mars Orbiter Mission for a mere US$74 million. NASA needs about ten times that much for comparable missions, albeit with far more complex payloads.

If India can get the GSLV MKIII running at the same price, or less, than its rivals, the nation might just find itself a space power. And if the craft becomes a viable crew-carrier, the sky's the limit. ®