Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), Jul 18 (PTI) India’s first privately developed orbital rocket, Skyroot Aerospace’ Vikram-1 will on Saturday soar into a low earth orbit (LEO) to place multiple technology demonstration payloads–both domestic and foreign.
Besides, it will also deploy a micro-art payload and a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi bearing the message “Vande Mataram”, along with postcards from engineers, scientists, and Indian astronauts.
Dubbed “Mission Aagaman”, the launch marks the entry of the country’s private space sector into the orbital launch market, spearheaded by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace.
“The four-stage rocket is set to launch from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota,” the company said.
The seven-storey-tall Vikram-1 rocket will lift off at a prefixed time of 11.30 am on Saturday from the first launch pad, marking a new era from this spaceport.
After its ascent, the primary payloads — technology demonstrators from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed, and Skyroot’s SCOPE — will be deployed into a 450 km LEO.
The engineering data collected during this test flight will be analysed to validate guidance and navigation systems, and to guide future refinements for commercial satellite missions, Skyroot Aerospace said.
The rocket is designed to carry 350 kg of satellite payloads to space, the company said on its website. PTI JR SA
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