Home » Telangana » Hyderabad Based Startup Skyroot Aerospace To Launch First Private Rocket In India Between 12 To 16 November

Hyderabad-based start-up Skyroot Aerospace to launch 1st private rocket in India

The private-sector rocket maker and space-tech start-up Skyroot Aerospace will launch its rocket from the Sriharikota Range.

BySumit Jha

Published Nov 08, 2022 | 6:40 PM ⚊UpdatedNov 08, 2022 | 6:53 PM

ISRO Chairman and Secretary DoS Dr. S. Somanath (right) unveiling the mission patch of Prarambh in the presence of Pawan Kumar Chandana (middle) and Naga Bharath Daka (left), co-founders of Skyroot Aerospace. (Supplied)

India’s first private-sector rocket — Vikram-S — will take to the skies from the spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launchpad in Sriharikota between 12 and 16 November.

Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace — a private-sector rocket maker and space-tech start-up — will launch its rocket with three payloads from the Sriharikota range.

Authorities have notified a launch window between 12 and 16 November. The final date is to be confirmed based on weather conditions.

With this maiden mission, Skyroot Aerospace is set to become the first private space company in India to launch a rocket into space, heralding a new era for the space sector, which was recently opened up to facilitate private sector participation.

Skyroot — a Startup India winner for “Space” in the category “Launch Vehicles” in 2020 — is the first Indian start-up to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ISRO in this regard.

“We could build and get our Vikram-S rocket mission-ready in such a short time because of the support we received from ISRO and IN-SPACe, and the technology talent that we possess,” said Co-Founder Pawan Kumar Chandana in a statement.

Mission Prarambh

The mission — named “Prarambh”, which translates to “beginning” — was unveiled by ISRO Chairman S Somanath in Bengaluru on 7 November after the technical launch clearance from the Space regulator IN-SPACe.

Thrilled to announce #Prarambh, our maiden launch mission, also the first for the Indian private space sector, with launch window between 12-16 Nov ’22. Thanks to Chairman @isro for unveiling our mission patch and @INSPACeIND for all the support.

Stay tuned?#OpeningSpaceForAll pic.twitter.com/xha83Ki2k0

— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) November 8, 2022

“The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle that will carry three customer payloads and help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of space launch vehicles,” said Skyroot COO and Co-Founder Naga Bharath Daka in a statement.

“We are utilising the world-class launch infrastructure at ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota for the launch,” he added.

Skyroot’s launch vehicles are named ‘Vikram’ as a tribute to the founder of the Indian space programme and noted scientist Vikram Sarabhai

Skyroot Aerospace

Skyroot Aerospace was formed in January 2017 by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka.

In August 2020, Skyroot first test-fired the Raman-I solid-fuel upper stage. This solid-fuel upper stage is a component of Vikram-I, and Skyroot was the first Indian private entity to test such a stage.

Skyroot, which builds small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs), was one of the first start-ups to sign an MoU with ISRO for sharing the latter’s facilities and expertise. It has raised $68 million in funding from investors so far.

According to Skyroot, it aims to make spaceflights affordable, reliable, and regular for all.