ISRO Set To Launch India's First Private Rocket On Nov 15: All You Need To Know
India is taking its first step towards the involvement of private players in the space sector as ISRO's launchpad at Sriharikota is set to launch Vikram-S - a rocket developed by a Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace.
In a conversation with TOI, the Skyroot COO & co-founder Naga Bharath Daka said, "We got the confirmation of the launch date in the morning.". He is camped at Sriharikota along with co-founder & CEO Pawan Kumar.?
Mission to open space for all
On Friday, the company announced that it will launch its maiden mission, 'Prarambh' on November 15.
"Excitement is up, with our launch window getting narrower. Exhilarating days at the launch pad, with our crew preparing for the big day. Heartbeats quicken. All gazes are up to the sky. The earth is listening. It all points to 15 November 2022 for launch. #Prarambh #OpeningSpaceForAll.," the company's tweet read.
As reported by PTI, the launch will commence at 11.30 am.? ??
A peak into Prarambh mission
The sub-orbital mission from the startup will carry three payloads - two Indian and one from foreign customers.?
Moreover, a 2.5 kg payload, Funny-Sat, built by students from India, the US, Singapore, and Indonesia, will be sent along by a Chennai-based aerospace startup - Spacekidz.
What makes Vikram S unique?
This small-lift launch space vehicle is named Vikram S as a tribute to Vikram Sarabhai - the father of India's space programme.
According to Skyroot, it has three rockets under the Vikram series, namely Vikram I, II, and III. These space vehicles are designed to support a range of communication services such as broadband internet, GPS, and IoT from space and earth imaging.
It is unique because these projectiles can be launched in less than 72 hours. With the 'lowest cost in the payload segment', these vehicles can carry satellites weighing up to 815 kgs to the low Earth orbit and the sun-synchronous polar orbits (SSPOs).
What is a sub-orbital flight?
In simple terms, the sub-orbital vehicles are destined to cross the ill-defined boundary of space, but they aren't fast enough to stay in space upon arrival. These vehicles lack sufficient horizontal velocity - created by a speed of 28,000 km/h or above - to remain in space. So, they come back to earth and therefore fly the suborbital trajectory.
Advent into a new era
The successful launch of this vehicle is set to cause a paradigm shift in the involvement of private players in space sector. India has been trying to attract homegrown private space companies to launch rockets since 2020. Founded in 2018, Skyroot has built and tested India's first privately developed cryogenic hypergolic-liquid and solid fuel-based rocket engines. The company reportedly uses advanced composite and 3D-printing technologies to launch the rockets.
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