Named as a tribute to the father of India's space programme Vikram Sarabhai, the rocket, Vikram-S, is a part of the Mission called ‘Prarambh,’ which is carrying three payloads.
Mission Prarambh is the talk of the day as India starts its new journey in the space segment. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the country’s first privately built rocket today. As Vikram-S lifted off from ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota, the private sector has officially marked its entry into the sector.
The liftoff of Vikram-S happened at 11:30 am. As a clear sky helped pave the way for the launch, loud cheer from the crowd further marked the occasion. Named as a tribute to the father of India's space programme Vikram Sarabhai, the rocket is a part of the Mission called ‘Prarambh,’ which is carrying three payloads. The launch was also authorised by India’s space regulator IN-SPACe.
As per media reports, Vikram-S reached a peak altitude of 89.5 km before it started its descent. Developed by a four-year old Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace, the rocket is believed to be among first few in the world that has 3-D printed solid thrusters for spin stability.
In addition to this, the launch of Vikram-S was expected to show flight proving of avionics system in Vikram series such as telemetry, tracking, Global Positioning System, data acquisition and so on.
Coming to Prarambh, the mission was unveiled by ISRO’s Chairman S Somnath earlier this month. As per media reports and statement, Pawan K Chandana, co-founder, Skyroot Aerospace said, “After months of sleepless nights and meticulous preparations from our team -- super thrilled to announce our first launch mission #Prarambh from the beautiful island of Sriharikota.”
With this launch, Skyroot Aerospace has become the first private company to enter the country’s space segment.