---
title: "GSLV Mk III (LVM3): ISRO's Heavy Launcher | Model Diplomat"
description: "GSLV Mk III, now called LVM3, is ISRO's heaviest rocket, lifting 4-tonne satellites to GTO. It launched Chandrayaan-2, -3 and India's Gaganyaan crew missions."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/gslv-mk-iii-lvm3"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The GSLV Mk III, redesignated LVM3, is ISRO's heaviest operational launch vehicle, capable of placing four-tonne satellites into geostationary transfer orbit.
- Why was the GSLV Mk III renamed LVM3?
- What is the LVM3's payload capacity?
- How does the LVM3 differ from the PSLV?
- Will the LVM3 carry India's astronauts?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

The GSLV Mk III, redesignated LVM3, is ISRO's heaviest operational launch vehicle, capable of placing four-tonne satellites into geostationary transfer orbit.

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## Timeline

1. 5 June 2017

   Development spanned roughly fifteen years, culminating in the first orbital flight on , which placed the GSAT-19 communications satellite into GTO.

2. 18 December 2014

   A precursor sub-orbital flight, the LVM3-X/CARE mission of , validated the atmospheric phase and demonstrated the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment…

3. 22 July 2019

   The launch from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, carried Chandrayaan-2 toward the Moon; the 14 July 2023 LVM3-M4 flight lau…

4. 14 July 2023

   The 22 July 2019 launch from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, carried Chandrayaan-2 toward the Moon; the LVM3-M4 flight lau…

5. 23 August 2023

   The 22 July 2019 launch from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, carried Chandrayaan-2 toward the Moon; the 14 July 2023 LVM3-M…

6. 23 October 2022

   NSIL contracted two dedicated LVM3 flights for the United Kingdom-based OneWeb, executed on (36 satellites) and 26 March 2023 (36 satellites), generating fo…

7. 26 March 2023

   NSIL contracted two dedicated LVM3 flights for the United Kingdom-based OneWeb, executed on 23 October 2022 (36 satellites) and (36 satellites), generating…

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Example

ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3 aboard an LVM3-M4 rocket from Sriharikota on 14 July 2023, leading to India's first soft landing near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023.

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