The Vikram-S rocket achieved 89.5 Kms peak altitude and met all flight parameters.
India’s first privately developed rocket Vikram-S was successfully launched today from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The rocket is built by Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based space-tech start-up.
Skyroot Aerospace’s maiden mission, named Prarambh, launched the rocket carrying three payloads made by N Space Tech India from Andhra Pradesh, Space Kids from Chennai, and Armenian BazoomQ Space Research Lab. With this lift-off, the country’s private sector makes a victorious entry into India’s space sector which has been dominated by state-run ISRO for several decades.
“We made history today by launching India’s first private rocket. It is a symbol of new India, and just the Prarambh of a great future.” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder of Skyroot Aerospace, said. In a full-scale suborbital launch, the Vikram-S rocket achieved 89.5 Kms peak altitude and met all flight parameters, Skyroot Aerospace Tweeted.
The private space company was founded by former employees of the Indian Space Research Organisation – Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka. It is the first startup to sign an MoU with ISRO for sharing facilities and expertise. The company named Vikram-S rocket after the father of India’s space sector Vikram Sarabhai, who initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in the country.
Earlier in September, Skyroot Aerospace had raised $52 million (around Rs 400 crore) through a Series-B financing round from Singapore sovereign investor GIC. It is likely the biggest funding round ever in the Indian space-tech sector. Before this, Skyroot had raised $11 million (around Rs 88 crore) in a Series-A financing round in July last year.
