ISRO launches Vikram-S, India’s first private rocket, successfully

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched Vikram-S, India’s first private rocket built by Hyderabad startup Skyroot Aerospace. The Vikram-S rocket was launched from the sounding rocket complex of the ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 11.30 am (local time) on Friday.

The rocket was launched with three customer payloads into space touching an altitude of over 90 kilometers. “We made history today by launching India’s first private rocket. It is a symbol of new India, and just the #Prarambh of a great future,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder, Skyroot Aerospace, said after the launch.

‘A new beginning in the journey of India’s space programme’

Skyroot Aerospace said that Vikram-S touched a peak altitude of 89.9 kilometers gaining a speed of Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. “The rocket Vikram-S took off at an LEA (launch elevation) of 80 degrees and azimuth of 100 degrees, achieved an altitude of 89.5 kilometers and a range of 121.2 kilometers — exactly what was planned by Skyroot Aerospace,” said Pawan Goenka, chairperson of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), Department of Space, after the successful launch of Vikram-S.

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The launch vehicles met all the mission parameters, clearing the stage for the company to launch the Vikram-I rocket next year. Union Minister for Science & Technology Jitendra Singh, who attended the launch said, “It is indeed a new beginning, a new dawn, and a new prarambh in the journey of India’s space programme. It is a major step forward for India in developing its own rockets and a turning point in India’s startup movement. Well done, Skyroot.”

Rocket developed by Hyderabad startup in two years

The successful launch of Vikram-S, named after Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of India’s space program, marks the entry of the private sector into the Indian space programme, which has hitherto remained controlled and funded by the government. Before India, the US, Europe, and China had allowed the entry of private players into the space.

Developed by the four-year-old startup in two years, the Vikram-S is a single-stage, spin-stabilized solid propellant rocket with a mass of around 550 kg. Made of all-carbon fibre core structure, the 6-meter-long rocket carries three customer payloads, including one from a customer outside India.

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The mission, named Prarambh (“the beginning” in Sanskrit), is the first by the startup, which will subsequently build a series of launch vehicles named after Vikram Sarabhai.

Skyroot developing three variants of Vikram-S

While Skyroot developed the rocket, Isro provided expertise and facilities to test the systems and technological developments. Though Vikram-S: Prarambh was a demonstration mission, it was still a full-scale suborbital launch for Skyroot. The mission proved that the technology, engine, and designs of the Vikram rocket are capable of launching heavy payloads into Low Earth Orbit.

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Skyroot Aerospace is in the process to develop three variants of the Vikram rocket — Vikram-I can carry 480 kilograms of payload to Low Earth Orbit; Vikram-II is equipped to lift off with 595 kgs of cargo; and Vikram-III can launch with an 815 kg to 500 km Low Inclination Orbit.

In June 2020, the Indian government passed the space sector reforms and established the IN-SPACe to allow private companies to use ISRO’s infrastructure. New Delhi also set up NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) as the space agency’s commercial arm to work closely with private companies and startups to bolster space developments in the South Asian country.

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Skyroot Aerospace, which was founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, successfully tested fire India’s privately-made solid rocket stage in December 2020.

In 2021, Skyroot Aerospace became the country’s first startup to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the ISRO to launch its rockets. The startup has raised $68 million in total, including $51 million in a Series B round led by Singapore-based GIC in September, and has a valuation of $165 million.