PRARAMBH
MISSION - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News: India's first private rocket to be launched between November 12-16
What's
in the news?
●
India’s
first privately developed launch vehicle – Hyderabad-based Skyroot’s Vikram-S –
is all set to make its maiden flight from the country’s only spaceport in
Sriharikota between November 12 and 16.
●
Marking the beginning of private sector
launches,
● The mission named ‘Prarambh’ will see Vikram-S carry three customer satellites in a sub-orbital flight.
Vikram
- S:
● The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which will carry three customer payloads and help test and validate technologies in the Vikram series space launch vehicles.
Sub-orbital
flight:
● Sub-orbital flight are those vehicles which are travelling slower than the orbital velocity – meaning it is fast enough to reach outer space but not fast enough to stay in an orbit around the Earth.
Skyroot
company:
●
The mission will help the company test its
systems in space.
●
The company is designing three Vikram
rockets that will use various solid and
cryogenic fuels to carry between 290 kg and 560 kg payloads to sun-synchronous
polar orbits.
● In comparison, India’s workhorse PSLV can carry up to 1,750kg to such an orbit while the newly-developed small satellite launch vehicle – meant for carrying smaller commercial satellites – can carry up to 300 kg to sun-synchronous orbit.
India's
Private participation in space sector:
●
Although Skyroot will be the first private
company to launch its rocket, others are not far behind.
●
Take for example Agnikul Cosmos, whose semi-cryogenic Agnilet engine was test- fired
for 15 seconds at Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) vertical
testing facility at Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS),
Thiruvananthapuram.
●
ISRO’s
Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV) are also likely to be
manufactured and operated by private players soon.
●
As for private satellite missions, ISRO’s
heaviest launch vehicle Mark III launched 36 OneWeb satellites (India’s Bharti is a stakeholder).
●
The space agency will be launching another
fleet of 36 satellites for the company as well. Other than that, the space
agency has also launched at least four satellites made by students.