Vikram-S to be launched between 12 and 16 November: Why India’s first private rocket mission is a big deal

It’s a proud moment for India’s space sector. On Tuesday, Hyderabad-based private space startup, Skyroot Aerospace announced that it was planning to launch the country’s first privately developed rocket, Vikram-S, into space as early as next week.

The mission named ‘Prarambh’ — the beginning — has a launch window between 12 and 16 November , based on weather conditions from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Sriharikota launchpad.

Thrilled to announce #Prarambh, our maiden launch mission, also the first for the Indian private space sector, with launch window between 12-16 Nov '22. Thanks to Chairman @isro for unveiling our mission patch and @INSPACeIND for all the support.

Stay tuned🚀#OpeningSpaceForAll pic.twitter.com/xha83Ki2k0

— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) November 8, 2022

With this mission, Skyroot Aerospace is set to become the first private space company in India to launch a rocket into space, heralding a new era for the space sector which was opened up in 2020 to facilitate private sector participation.

All about ‘Prarambh’

Mission ‘Prarambh’ will see Skyroot Aerospace launching off its Vikram-S rocket with three payloads — all three names of the payloads haven’t been revealed. However, one of them will be a 2.5-kilogram payload that has been developed by students from several countries, including India, under the aegis of SpaceKidzIndia.

According to the Hyderabad-based private space startup, the Vikram-S will perform a suborbital flight with three customer payloads, and will test and validate the rocket’s technology. It will be launched from ISRO’s Sriharikota, from where all of ISRO’s orbital launches occur. The final date will be announced closer to launch depending on weather conditions.

Thanking ISRO and IN-SPACe, the country’s nodal agency for promoting and regulating space-tech players, CEO & co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace, Pawan Kumar Chandana was quoted as saying, “We are proud to announce our pathbreaking mission ‘Prarambh’ dedicated to the Indian private space sector, which has hugely benefited from the reforms that were guided by the government of India and its vision.”

Vikram-S — India’s first private rocket

Skyroot’s Vikram-S rocket, which will be India’s first privately developed rocket, has been named after the Father of Indian space program, Vikram Sarabhai.

It is a small-lift launch vehicle having a payload of 480 kg to Low Earth Orbit. As per reported information, Vikram-S has three solid fuel-powered stages. Each stage has a burn time ranging between 80 and 108 seconds.

According to an IANS report, the rocket stage is built with high-strength carbon fibre structure, solid fuel, Ethylene-Propylene-Diene terpolymers (EPDM) thermal protection system, and carbon ablative nozzle.

The launch of the rocket comes after the company completed its testing back in May.

We’re fired up to announce our successful completion of full duration static fire test of Vikram-1 rocket stage ‘Kalam-100’.

Peak Thrust: ~10Tons
Carbon Fiber Built
Burn time: 108s

Witness the roar in our firing footage: https://t.co/3DhKB8O2nj 🔥🔥#MadeInIndia pic.twitter.com/hzfLg7p2wB

— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) May 19, 2022

The men behind Vikram-S

Vikram-S is the brainchild of Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace Private Ltd. Founded in 2018, it has a team of rocket engineers who previously worked at ISRO.

The company’s aim, according to their website, is: ‘Affordable, on-demand and reliable ride to space.’

It adds, “We are on a mission to open space for all, by pushing the boundaries of today’s technology. We are working towards a future where space becomes part of our lives, and such a transition will transform humankind like never before.”

The CEO and co-founder of Skyroot, Pawan Chandana, also worked as ISRO. During his stint there, he worked on the GSLV Mk-III, the largest rocket made in India, for five years. He also worked as a System Engineer for the world’s third-largest solid rocket stage, S200, the booster rocket for GSLV Mk-3.

In 2018, he left ISRO and along with Naga Bharath Daka founded Skyroot Aerospace Private Ltd. Daka is an IIT-Madras alumnus and he too worked in ISRO. While at India’s premier space agency, he worked as a Flight Computer Engineer at VSSC and has built hardware and firmware for multiple key onboard computer modules that implement the sequencing, navigation, control, and guidance functions of the launch vehicle.

Now, we sit back and see as India’s private rockets launch into space — a giant leap for the country and its space enthusiasts.

With inputs from agencies

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