Kushinagar(UP) (PTI): Space agency ISRO successfully conducted a rocket launching test here, marking the first time a payload was launched via a rocket from the soil of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The test conducted on Saturday in collaboration with Thrust Tech India Limited saw the rocket ascend 1.1 km at 5:14:33 PM, a complete success.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Abhishek Singh said, "The rocket was launched at 5:14 PM and 33 seconds, which went up to a height of 1.1 km. After this, a small satellite (payload) came out. As soon as it fell down to 5 metres, its parachute activated and the satellite landed within 400 metres on the ground." The 15 kg rocket also descended safely.

This test was a prelude to a larger event in October-November, where around 900 youth-built satellites will be tested.

Vinod Kumar, Director of Thrust Tech India, confirmed the company's motor test success.

"This event is being organised to generate interest in space technology among children across the region and the whole of India," he said.

Unlike previous tests in Ahmedabad using drones, this was the first time a satellite was directly launched by a rocket in UP, proving entirely successful, Singh said.

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New Delhi (PTI): Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani will be India's new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and his key task is set to be to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy. 

He will succeed Gen Anil Chauhan whose tenure will come to an end on May 30. 

Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country's senior-most military commander in September 2022, over nine months after the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. 

The government has appointed Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as the Chief of Defence Staff, who will also function as the secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, the defence ministry said on Saturday. 

Lt Gen Subramani is currently serving as the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat. 

Prior to that, he was the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025, and was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command from March 2023 till June 2024. 

As Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen Subramani's primary task will be to implement the theaterisation model to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands.

The officer is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the eighth battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985. 

Lt Gen Subramani is an alumnus of Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King's College London and an MPhil in defence studies from Madras University. 

In his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Lt Gen Subramani has served across a wide spectrum of conflict and terrain profiles and tenanted a host of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. 

He commanded the 16 Garhwal Rifles in Counter-Insurgency operations in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, the 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, and the 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector, all during a challenging operational environment. 

He also has the distinction of commanding two Corps, including the Indian Army's premier strike Corps on the Western Front.