Three-stage expendable rocket developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to carry heavier satellites of the order of 2 500 kg into geosynchronous transfer orbits and a 5 000 kg payload into low Earth orbits. The vehicle is a three-stage launcher that uses one solid rocket motor stage, one Earth storable liquid stage, and one cryogenic stage. The rocket stands 49.13 metres tall and has a lift-off mass of 414.75 tonnes. Its maiden flight occurred on 18 April 2001; it was the first of nine successful launches up to 8 September 2016. The fifth flight in 2014 marked the first successful flight of its indigenous cryogenic stage, making India sixth among space-faring nations to achieve capability in indigenous cryogenic rocket propulsion.