Page 3 - Spec Tech Vol 1 Issue 09
P. 3

India’s first private rocket, built by startup



         Skyroot, makes successful launch






























         Image Credit: Skyroot Aerospace

         India’s space agency has successfully                   (IN-SPACe) to allow private companies to
         launched the Vikram-S after much                        use ISRO’s infrastructure. New Delhi also
         anticipation and years-long work in a boost             set up NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) as
         to the private sector of the nation’s space             the space agency’s commercial arm to work
         industry.                                               closely with private companies and startups
         The Indian Space Research Organization                  to bolster space developments in the South
         (ISRO) kicked off the suborbital rocket at              Asian country.
         11:30 a.m. local time Friday from the Satish            “I am happy to announce the successful
         Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.              completion of mission Prarambh, ‘the

         The Vikram-S, developed by four-year-old                beginning’ of Skyroot Aerospace. The rocket
         startup Skyroot Aerospace, is a                         VKS [Vikram-S] took off at an LEA (launch
         single-stage, spin-stabilized solid-propellant          elevation) of 80 degrees and azimuth of 100
         rocket with a mass of around 550 kilograms.             degrees, achieved an altitude of 89.5
         It carries three customer payloads, including           kilometers and a range of 121.2 kilometers
         one from a customer outside India. Made of              — exactly what was planned by Skyroot
         all-carbon fibre core structure, the six-meter-         Aerospace. All systems, as I can make out,
         long rocket was developed in two years.                 worked as planned and Skyroot Aerospace
         The demonstration mission, named                        has demonstrated capability of various
         Prarambh (“the beginning” in Sanskrit), is              subsystems that will go into the orbital
         the first by Hyderabad-based Skyroot. The               launch vehicle,” said Pawan Goenka,
         startup is building a series of launch                  chairperson of IN-SPACe, Department of
         vehicles named after Vikram Sarabhai, the               Space, after the successful launch.
         founder of India’s space program.                       Founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientists

         In June 2020, the Indian government                     Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath
         passed the space sector reforms and                     Daka, Skyroot successfully test-fired India’s
         established the Indian National Space                   privately made solid-rocket stage in
         Promotion and Authorization Center                      December 2020. It was also the country’s


         Space Explorer 2022                                                                                                                                                    3
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