Vikram-1 will be launched in January 2024, why is the seven-storey rocket special for the Indian space sector?

India is continuously creating history in the field of space. The country's national space agency ISRO recently landed Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface. After this, the launch of the country's first solar mission Aditya-L1 also became a topic of discussion. Taking this trend forward, now private sector company Skyroot is also preparing to launch Vikram-1 rocket.

Let us know why Vikram-1 is in the news now? After all, what is Vikram-1 rocket? What is the specialty of rocket? When will the mission be launched?

Indian startup Skyroot recently unveiled the Vikram-1 rocket at the GMR Aerospace and Industrial Park in South Hyderabad. During this, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh also inaugurated Skyroot's new headquarters 'The Max-Q Campus'.

On this occasion, Jitendra Singh said that India is now in a position to lead other countries in the space sector. In his address, he expressed hope that Skyroot organization will soon launch Vikram-1 Orbital Launch Vehicle.

Vikram-1 is a small launch vehicle that will be able to carry a payload of up to 480 kg to a height of 500 km in space. Its purpose is to launch small satellites. It is named after Vikram Sarabhai, considered the father of Indian space missions. It is the country's first privately built satellite launch vehicle. The company is making three launch vehicles of Vikram series. The payload of Vikram-2 rocket will be 595 kg and that of Vikram-3 will be 815 kg.

According to Skyroot, the propulsion stages of Vikram-1 are completely reliable. The electronic systems used in the vehicle are modern and small in size. It has the ability to disintegrate in the air with a very light shock.

It is flexible in many ways. Vikram-1 has the capability to start again, through which the rocket can be entered into multiple orbits simultaneously. Even from the economic point of view, it can send payload at low cost. The rocket can also operate in minimum range infrastructure. It can be assembled and launched within 24 hours from any launch site.

The country's first private rocket Vikram-S was launched on 18 November 2022 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The rocket developed by space startup Skyroot Aerospace was launched by ISRO from its launch pad in Sriharikota. This first mission of Skyroot Aerospace was named ‘Prarambh’, which carried three consumer payloads.

 

This mission marked an important milestone for Skyroot as it helped validate 80 percent of the technologies that were used in the Vikram-1 orbital vehicle.

Skyroot COO Bharat Dhaka said that the unveiling of Vikram-1 space launch vehicle is a very proud moment. He said that our design capability and state-of-the-art domestic technology have been an integral part in the construction of Vikram-1. We are preparing it for launch in early 2024.

Former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Bharat Dhaka formed a startup called Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd in 2018. Chandana has studied from IIT Kharagpur and Dhaka from IIT Madras. In ISRO, Chandana worked on important projects like the country's biggest rocket GSLV MK-3, while Dhaka worked on all the important hardware and software as a flight computer engineer in ISRO. Skyroot is the first startup that has signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to build rockets.

According to ISRO Chairman S. Somnath, 100 start-ups have signed agreements to work with ISRO in the field of space technology and innovation. He told that out of 100, there are about 10 such companies which are engaged in developing satellites and rockets.