Skyroot Aerospace – India’s first privately built rocket launch delayed – now successfully launched!
1 year ago Rituka MHyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace announced on 13th Nov that the launch of Vikram – S which was supposed to set off today, the 15th, has been postponed. Citing bad weather conditions, the launch will now happen on 18th November 2022.
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India’s first privately developed and built rocket, Vikram – S will launch a sub-orbital mission with 3 payloads. This mission will be the beginning of their journey into space exploration and is known as ‘Prarambh’. The rocket will be carrying a total of 3 payloads, 2 from India and 1 from foreign customers. The mission is going to launch from the ISRO launchpad at Sriharikota.
Spacekidz, a Chennai-based aerospace startup, will fly ‘Fun-Sat’, a 2.5 kg payload developed by students from India, the US, Singapore, and Indonesia on the sub-orbital flight onboard Vikram-S.
Curious To Know More About Skyroot’s Vikram? Continue Reading Here.
Skyroot is the first startup to sign a memorandum of understanding with ISRO for the launch of rockets. In September 2022, Skyroot successfully raised USD 51 million through a Series-B financing round. Moreover, in the previous year in July, it had raised USD 11 million in the Series-A round.
Upon the successful launch of Vikram – S, Skyroot will become the first Indian privately held space company to do so. The space industry opened up for private players in 2020 by the Government. This move allows the private space sector to partake and develop space technology, and also make our space dream possible.
However, the central aim of allowing private companies into the space sector is to create a conducive environment for cost-effective satellite launch services. Apart from this, the government intends to eliminate any entry barriers and help these companies advance their missions. Additionally, making the space dream possible will allow making spaceflights affordable, reliable, and regular for all.
Speaking on the launch, COO and Co-founder Naga Bharath Daka says; “Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which will carry three customer payloads. This will help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of space launch vehicles. We are utilizing the world-class launch infrastructure at ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota for the launch.” CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana will be the mission director, while Daka will be the co-mission director.
