India has successfully launched the first rocket that was privately made.
The rocket has the potential to achieve a speed of Mach 5, ascend to an altitude of 100 kilometres, and carry a payload of 83 kilograms.
BENGALURU: On Friday, India achieved a significant milestone in its drive to establish a commercial space sector and to compete on the basis of cost when it successfully launched its first rocket that was developed privately. The rocket in question was called the Vikram-S.
The Indian space agency’s launch site is located near Chennai, and the 545-kilogram rocket that was constructed by the startup space company Skyroot successfully reached a peak altitude of 89.5 kilometres (km).
According to the business, the rocket is able to achieve a speed of Mach 5, which is equivalent to travelling five times the speed of sound and can transport a payload of 83 kilogrammes to an altitude of 100 kilometres.
A milestone that some agencies consider to be the beginning of space, 80 kilometres was the objective that the Skyroot team wanted to achieve with their very first launch. At an altitude of one hundred kilometres, the Karman line, which was established by an international aeronautics authority as the border between the Earth’s atmosphere and space, can be found.
The rocket was seen launching from the space centre in the film, and it was seen leaving a trail of smoke and fire behind it as it travelled. According to the officials, it went down in the Bay of Bengal approximately five minutes after it was launched.
Pawan Goenka, who chairs the Indian government agency that coordinates activities in the private space sector, said, “I’m glad to announce the successful completion of Mission Prarambh, the beginning.”
Skyroot, the company that was founded by Pawan Chandana and Bharath Daka, has set a goal of reducing the expenses of development by up to 90 per cent in comparison to the price of launching tiny satellites using existing platforms.
It anticipates being able to realise these cost reductions by the utilisation of a rocket architecture that can be assembled using composite components in fewer than seventy-two hours. Beginning in 2019, it intends to carry out launches that are able to deliver satellites.
“Both innovative technological advancement and efficient use of resources ought to be the industry’s primary motivators. Since we have already achieved cost efficiency, the next step is to concentrate on developing cutting-edge technologies “Chandana remarked.
In order to supplement its state-run space programme, which is well-known for its cost-effective launches and missions, the government of India has been making efforts to foster the growth of the private space industry.
The low cost of India’s unmanned Mars mission in 2014, which garnered headlines for costing less than the film “Gravity,” which won an Academy Award, was merely 74 million dollars.
Up until recently, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) held a monopoly on the business of launching rockets in India.
Vikram Sarabhai, an Indian physicist and astronomer widely regarded as the “father” of India’s space programme, was honoured with the naming of the Skyroot rockets in his honour.
Skyroot, which has its headquarters in Hyderabad and was established in 2018, is supported financially by the GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore. Skyroot was the first space startup to sign an agreement to use Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launch and test facilities after the government opened the door to private companies in 2020.
It currently has roughly 200 employees and has raised a total of 5.26 billion rupees, which is equivalent to 64.42 million dollars. According to the company, the initial launch project has been worked on by close to one hundred individuals.
