Meet Vikram-1, an indigenous rocket with height of a 7-storey building
The multi-stage launch vehicle has been built by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, a space startup.
Hyderabad-based space startup Skyroot Aerospace on Tuesday unveiled ‘Vikram-1,’ a multi-stage launch vehicle with an expected space launch in early 2024. The rocket was revealed at ‘Max-Q,’ the company's new headquarters in the city, inaugurated by Union Science and Technology minister, Jitendra Singh, simultaneously.
That Vikram-1 was unveiled on the same day as the opening of the new headquarters, is a ‘moment of great pride,’ said Bharath Daka, co-founder and COO of Skyroot.
All you need to know about ‘Vikram-1’:
(1.) According to the company, this launch vehicle has a capacity to place 300 kg payloads in the Low Earth Orbit.
(2.) The rocket is an all-carbon-bodied vehicle capable of placing multiple satellites into orbit; it also features 3D-printed liquid engines.
(3.) Globally, Vikram-1 is among ‘elite few’ rockets with the capability to deploy orbital satellites, says Skyroot.
(4.) As tall as a 7-storey building, it is the startup's second rocket and comes after ‘Vikram-S,’ the country's first privately-built rocket; the latter was successfully launched in November last year.
(5.) With ‘Vikram-S,’ Skyroot became the first company to launch a private rocket from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) facility in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
(6.) The ‘Vikram’ in the launch vehicles' name is a tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme.
(With agency inputs)