India launches first privately made rocket

Picture source - AFP

India successfully launched its first own-made rocket Vikram-S on Friday.

Vikram-S is a 545 kg rocket developed by Skyroot a company founded by Pawan Chandana and Bharath Daka.

Vikram-S took off from Chennai near the Indian Space agency site and hit a peak altitude of 89.5 kilometres.

For its initial launch, the Skyroot team set an objective of 80km which some organizations see as the outer limits of space however, The Karman line established by an international aeronautics organization as the line separating the Earth’s atmosphere from space is located at an altitude of 100 km.

Chairman of the Indian government agency Pawan Goenka stated, “I’m happy to announce the successful completion of Mission Prarambh.”

The goal of Skyroot was to reduce operating costs for launching tiny spacecraft by up to 90% compared to current platforms.

Chandana the co-founder of Skyroot stated that Innovation and cost efficiency should be the two drivers for the industry. Cost efficiency has already been achieved, and now we should look at cutting-edge technology.

The Skyroot rockets are named for Indian physicist and astronomer Vikram Sarabhai, who is regarded as the pioneer of India’s space program.

As a complement to its publicly funded space industry, which is renowned for its low-cost rockets and missions, the Indian government had been pressing for the growth of a launch market for years now.