India's space programme cleared another milestone on Saturday, 31 October 2026, when the GSLV-F18 rocket lifted off successfully — and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma was among the first voices to mark the moment, congratulating every scientist, engineer and mission worker who made it happen.

Writing in Hindi on X, CM Sharma declared that India had once again demonstrated its 'scientific excellence and technological capability' in space. 'अंतरिक्ष के क्षेत्र में भारत ने एक बार फिर अपनी वैज्ञानिक उत्कृष्टता और तकनीकी सामर्थ्य का परिचय दिया है' — ('India has once again showcased its scientific excellence and technological prowess in the field of space') — he wrote, adding that the country's space journey is now 'moving towards new heights' with the successful launch of GSLV-F18.

ISRO's steady climb: from Chandrayaan-3 to GSLV-F18

ISRO — the Indian Space Research Organisation — has been on a remarkable run. Its crowning recent moment came in August 2023, when Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing near the lunar south pole, making India only the fourth country in history to land on the Moon and the first to reach its southern polar region. That triumph reset global expectations of what Indian science could deliver on a fraction of Western mission budgets.

GSLV — the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle — is the workhorse that carries heavier communication and earth-observation payloads into higher orbits. Each successful GSLV flight extends India's ability to deploy its own satellites without dependence on foreign launchers, a strategic priority that successive governments have underlined. The F18 mission adds another data point to that record of indigenous capability.

Modi's space vision and the road to Gaganyaan

CM Sharma specifically credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'visionary leadership' for ISRO's unbroken momentum, noting that the organisation is 'continuously setting new records and enhancing India's glory on the global stage.' The political framing reflects a broader BJP narrative that aligns space success with national ambition — but the underlying engineering achievements give it real grounding.

The bigger prize on ISRO's horizon is Gaganyaan, India's first crewed spaceflight programme. Unmanned test flights have been building toward the moment India puts its own astronauts — Gaganauts — into orbit. Every clean GSLV mission strengthens the confidence and the data bank that a crewed flight demands. GSLV-F18 is, in that sense, not just a launch — it is a rehearsal for history.

From a chief minister in Jaipur saluting scientists in Sriharikota, to a billion-plus people tracking the feed — India's space story has become a shared national event. The scientists own the launch pad; the nation owns the pride.