India Launches Its First Private Rocket: All You Need To Know
In a moment that will go down in history, India has launched its first private rocket called Vikram-S today at 11 am. The event Christened 'Mission Prarambh' (beginning) was launched at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This is a common launch pad provided by ISRO, and has been utilised for multiple missions previously.
What is Vikram S?
It is a rocket developed by Hyderabad-based company Skyroot, named after the celebrated scientist Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of India’s space program. (Skyroot is a start-up founded in 2018, and has raised over 500 cr in funding since. It was the first startup to sign an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with ISRO for launching rockets. They cater to the small satellite market). Vikram S is a 6-meter-long, single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle, which will use various solid and cryogenic (frozen) fuels. The engine used is named after our former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and is called ‘Kalam-80', which will be one of the key areas Skyroot was monitoring as the rocket took off.
Under this mission, Vikram S will carry three customer satellites in a suborbital flight, like one taken by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson. These rockets travel at enough velocity to reach outer space but not fast enough to stay in the orbit around Earth. It is not as fast as what we see in PSLV or GSLV (Global Satellite Launch Vehicle). It did however, reach 89 km from the surface, which is outer space given that outer space started at 80 km from surface. Presently, it has landed in the Bay of Bengal, 130 km away from the launch site.
Image Source: ISRO
Spacekidz, a Chennai-based startup is set to fly a 2.5 kg payload satellite called ‘Fun-Sat' from India, Indonesia, USA, and Singapore on Vikram S. Additionally, Vikram S will also carry a payload from N SpaceTech, an Andhra Pradesh-based startup, and Armenia based BazoomQ Space Reasesrch Lab. Vikram S will now test about 80 per cent of all systems and processes before the lunch of Vikram 1, which will be a much bigger rocket scheduled for 2023.
What are single-stage rockets?
As we have seen in Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket launchers, there are four stages alternating at solid, liquid, solid, and liquid. When it comes to Vikram S, they are planning to make three kinds of rockets, each of which will use a different kind of fuel.
These launch vehicles are a welcome step because smaller rockets have had to piggyback on larger ones, which is a problem given the ever-increasing need for communication, surveillance, and commerce across sectors. This change is possible because India opened its space sector in 2020 when the draft ‘space com policy' was announced. This opened doors for private firms to enter the space race. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) will provide them with the requisite tech knowledge while the companies will be paying them.
