India’s Space agency is due to launch its most powerful rocket later this month, from its space center in Andhra Pradesh. The Indian government hopes the launch will attract commercial attention to its space program. The 400 ton Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle will carry the most sophisticated satellite India has yet built. It is being launched at a cost of $20m, a fraction of wha it costs for most other commercial launches. The Indian government has invested $2bn in the Indian Space Research Organization, and hopes that India will become a favored commercial launch site for telecommunications satellites, competing with China and Russia, as well as the US and Europe, by the year 2000.