Chennai, Nov 17 (Representative) Tomorrow ‘s launch of Vikram-S, India’sfive private rocket from the spaceport of Sriharikota, will heralda new age in India’s space sector, the Indian National SpacePromotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), Departmentof Space (DOS), said.IN-SPACe has authorized the first private sector launch of aLaunch Vehicle by Skyroot Aerospace – a Hyderabad basedspace start-up. This will enable the first-ever launch of a privately designedand built rocket from India. The mission carries three customerpayloads and the launch is scheduled at 1130 hrs tomorrow.IN-SPACe has been operating as a single-window, autonomousnodal agency of DOS to boost private space sector economy inIndia.In their continued efforts to give India’s space sector a new anddynamic dimension, IN-SPACe’s authorization of Skyroot’s launchvehicle initiates a new chapter in India’s space domain. Skyroot Aerospace is a space startup founded by Pawan KumarChandana and Naga Bharath Daka in June 2018. It is a two-timenational award-winning space startup, with 200 employees, andis the largest funded private space start up in India having raisedRs 526 crore as capital till date.Skyroot will be launching its maiden rocket under the launch mission‘PRARAMBH’.
The Prarambh mission was unveiled by ISRO Chairman Dr. S. Somanath in Bangalore on November 7 after the technical launchclearance from IN-SPACe.The mission aims to launch Vikram – S (VKS), a sub-orbital rocket fromIndia’s spaceport the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. VKS isa single-stage solid fuelled, sub-orbital rocket which has taken about twoyears to develop and has been built using advanced technologies includingcarbon composite structures and 3D-printed components. Expressing delight on this historic milestone, Dr. Pawan K Goenka, Chairmanof IN-SPACe, said, “India’s space sector is going through tremendous changesthanks to the government’s holistic policies to promote the space sector and tofacilitate involvement by private players. ” “We’re truly delighted to have authorized Skyroot’s maiden mission, which willenable India’s first-ever private launch of a launch vehicle. I hope the Vikram-Srocket marks the start of a new age in India’s private space domain”, he said.
The seamless joint efforts of various ISRO centres including SDSC SHAR,ISTRAC and VSSC, Skyroot team and IN-SPACe, have enabled the SkyrootVKS rocket to be launch-ready in a short period of time.’ The Vikram-S rocket flight is a technology demonstration flight to showcasethe capabilities of the company. It carries with it three PCB based payloadsfor three customers which are equipped with sensors for the measurementof acceleration, pressure etc. This rocket will help validate the technologies that will be used in the subsequentVikram-1 orbital vehicle of Skyroot that is planned for launch next year, subject totechnical clearance by IN-SPACe. This is the fourth authorization issued to NGE (Non-Governmental Entities) forundertaking space activities in India, by IN-SPACe in six months. Till date, IN-SPACe has received more than 150 applications from Space NGEsfor Authorization, Facilitation, and Promotion.