India’s first private rocket, Vikram-S, successfully launches from Sriharikota

Vikram-S, India’s first privately developed rocket, successfully launched from the Sriharikota spaceport on Friday.

At 11:30 a.m., the Vikram Suborbital rocket was launched from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Center.

“Mission Prarambh is successfully accomplished. Congratulations” tweeted the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO and tagged @SkyrootA Congratulations India! @INSPACeIND
The ‘Prarambh’ mission and the Vikram-S rocket have been developed by Skyroot Aerospace start up in Hyderabad with support from ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre).

“89.5 Kms peak altitude was achieved.” The Vikram-S rocket meets all flight parameters. It’s history in the making for India. Keep watching,” Skyroot Aerospace tweeted, attaching a YouTube link of the flight Union Minister Jitendra Singh, on Friday, arrived at Sriharikota for the grand launch of ‘Vikram S’.

Taking to Twitter, Jitendra Singh shared a picture with the team members of Skyroot Aerospace which he captioned, “With #StartUp Team “Skyroot Aerospace” at #Sriharikota, minutes before the launch of the first ever private Rocket, Vikram-S, named after Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of India’s space program.” Countdown begins!.”

The name “Vikram-S” honours Vikram Sarabhai, the man who started India’s space programme.

Skyroot Aerospace in Hyderabad has built the “Prarambh” mission and the Vikram-S rocket with assistance from ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre). The rocket is sending two Indian and one foreign customer’s cargo into space.

According to Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram-S, which is powered by solid fueled propulsion, cutting edge avionics, and an all-carbon fibre core construction, has been built within a record time of two years, with the foundation starting around late 2020.

According to Skyroot Aerospace, the Vikram-S will aid in testing and validating the majority of the technological components found in the Vikram series of orbital class space launch vehicles, including numerous sub-systems and components that will be tested during the pre-liftoff and post-liftoff phases of the launch.

One of the first all-composite space launch vehicles, Vikram S, is built with solid thrusters that were 3D printed for spin stability.

According to Skyroot Aerospace, the Vikram-S is the quickest and most affordable way to travel to space, with a body mass of 545 kg, a length of 6 meters, and a diameter of 0.375 meters.