VIKRAM-S SETS OFF TO THE STARS

Vikram Sarabhai's namesake rocket launched, making way for Skyroot Aerospace to become India's first private startup to seal its place among the stars.

Skyroot Aerospace team, Source- Skyroot Aerospace

Aptly named 'Prarambh' (meaning beginning), 18th November 2022 was an important date for a certain space technology startup based in Hyderabad. ‘Skyroot Aerospace’ completed the mission to launch our country's first privately built rocket into suborbital flight. The rocket named 'Vikram-S' is part of their Vikram family of small-lift launch vehicles.  An industry dominated by government bodies and launches, this was a positive step towards encouraging private players, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and business houses to enter the Space industry and bring healthy competition to Government-owned Space organisations.

Launched from the sounding rocket launch complex at Satish Dhawan Space Centre and named after Vikram Sarabhai, the six-metre-long rocket was a culmination of immense hard work, rigorous testing, and a meeting of brilliant ex-ISRO minds at Skyroot Aerospace. The rocket launch was assisted by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre  (IN-SPACe)  provided the authorisation for the launch. Skyroot Aerospace started the foundation for this rocket launch 2 years ago, in August 2020, through the Vikram-I launch vehicle.

Various parts of Vikram-I such as the upper stage engine named ‘Raman’ and a solid rocket stage demonstrator named ‘Kalam-5’ were tested from August to May 2022. Finally in May, a full-duration test-firing of its third stage engine, named ‘Kalam 100’, yielded the desired results, and gave the green signal for Vikram-S to consequently take flight towards the stars. This arduous journey and the successful launch made Vikram-S the largest rocket stage ever designed, manufactured, and tested completely in the private sector, here in India. A true ‘Make In India’ project that blasted off and made its mark in space history.

Vikram-S carried three payloads- one from Andhra Pradesh-based N Space Tech India, another from Chennai-based start-up Space Kidz and the third one from an Armenian enterprise- BazoomQ Space Research Lab. The rocket, through a single-stage flight,  reached an apogee or altitude of 89.5km, in 155 seconds. The rocket is one of the first composite launch vehicles in the world. It consists of an all-high-strength carbon fiber core, 3D-printed solid thrusters for spin stability, paired with cutting-edge avionics, and its overall mass of 545 kilograms powered forward into the history books by solid-fuel propulsion. Other specifications include high propellant volumetric loading up to 94%, a lighter EPDM-based thermal protection system, and a submerged nozzle.

Formed in July 2018, this private space technology startup can be better understood as an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider. Skyroot Aerospace, with its cutting-edge logo, sits at the forefront of such technologies and is a recipient of many firsts in the rocket and space industry. In August 2020, they tested Raman-I, a hypergolic-fuel upper-stage engine, and became the first Indian private entity to do so. In September they unveiled the first cryogenic engine in India that used liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen as fuel, called Dhawan-I. Later, in November they successfully test-fired it. Aided by the central government’s policy change, in September 2021, they became the first Indian private startup to formally sign an agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Based on their track record and history, the future for Skyroot Aerospace and the Space industry here in our country looks promising, powerful, and democratic. Since mid-2020, they have raised funds, won several awards, signed a memorandum of understanding with an Indian private satellite manufacturer, and inked partnerships with other aerospace agencies. With bookings also under their belt and an eye towards the global small satellite market, they are on a path, as per their website's statement, to open ‘Space for all’.