Important Facts For Prelims
India’s First Private Launch Vehicle
- 09 Nov 2022
- 2 min read
Why in News?
Space technology startup Skyroot Aerospace is set to make history by sending India’s first privately developed rocket Vikram-S into space between 12th and 16th November, 2022 under the ‘Prarambh’ Mission.
- Skyroot Aerospace is an Indian startup in the aerospace business.
What is Vikram-S?
- The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which would carry three customer payloads.
- Sub-orbital flight are those vehicles which are travelling slower than the orbital velocity – meaning it is fast enough to reach outer space but not fast enough to stay in an orbit around the Earth.
- It would help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of space launch vehicles.
- Skyroot has been working on three different Vikram rocket versions.
- The Vikram-I can launch with 480 kilograms of payload, whereas the Vikram-II is designed to do so with 595 kilos and Vikram-III has a 500 km Low Inclination Orbit launch capability with 815 kg.
What is the Prarambh Mission?
- The Prarambh mission is aimed at carrying three payloads into space, including a 2.5-kilogram payload that has been developed by students from several countries.
- The Prarambh mission and the Vikram-S rocket were developed by the Hyderabad-based startup with extensive support from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre).
