India’s first privately developed rocket, Vikram-S, will be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s launch pad at Sriharikota on Tuesday, November 15, said Hyderabad-based space start-up Skyroot Aerospace.
The rocket is part of the maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, Prarambh (the beginning), which will carry payloads of two Indian and one foreign customers. The Chennai-based aerospace start-up, Spacekidz will fly ‘Fun-Sat’, a 2.5 kg payload developed by students from India, the US, Singapore and Indonesia on the sub-orbital flight on board Vikram-S.
With this mission, Skyroot will become the first private space company in India to launch a rocket into space. Tuesday’s launch will begin a new era for the Indian space sector, which was opened in 2020 to private players.
Skyroot was the first start-up to sign a memorandum of understanding with ISRO for launching its rockets. The Hyderabad-based venture aims to disrupt entry barriers to cost-efficient satellite launch services and space-flight by advancing its mission to make spaceflights affordable, reliable and regular for all, the venture said in a statement. Established in 2018, it has successfully built and tested India’s first privately developed cryogenic, hypergolic-liquid, and solid fuel-based rocket engines using advanced composite and 3D-printing technologies.
