A rocket carrying India's heaviest satellite has disintegrated in a ball of smoke and flame seconds after lift-off, dealing a crippling blow to an ambitious space programme.

The 49m rocket was launched yesterday from an island off the coast of the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, but veered off course and disintegrated about 30 seconds later.

"A mishap happened in the first stage of the separation and it will be some time before we know what went wrong," Madhavan Nair, Indian Space Research Organisation mission chief, said.

The rocket carried a 2,4-ton satellite to be placed in stationary space orbit at 36 000km, designed for a mission life of 10 years and meant to boost television services.

A similar version of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully placed a satellite in orbit in 2004.

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