The success of new rockets in India and the U.S. is fortifying a French argument for developing a more affordable three-stage rocket, rather than a two-stage solid-fueled one.
The urgency of beginning work on the next-generation rocket hit home Jan. 5 with the flawless first flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which lofted a small national communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on the country's eastern coast.
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