Skyroot Aerospace, an Indian launch vehicle company, has announced that their first rocket launch will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15.
The ‘Vikram-S’ suborbital rocket will be launched from India’s spaceport Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This rocket flight will be India’s first-ever launch of a privately designed and built rocket.
Given the prevailing North East Monsoon, the launch window was announced as 12-16 November, and the launch date had to be firmed up based on weather conditions in India’s East Coast.
Skyroot’s rocket, dubbed ‘Vikram-S,’ is designed to lift three payloads belonging to their customers in a sub-orbital flight (roughly 80 kms above sea level).
Anything above the ‘Karman Line’ (100 km above sea level) is considered a foray into space, while anything below the Karman Line is referred to as sub-orbital flights for upper-atmospheric experiments.
This launch is significant because it will allow Skyroot to test its flight hardware and systems, thereby validating their previous work. The Vikram series of orbital-class rockets is being developed by the company.
The Vikram series of rockets are named after the Indian Physicist and Astronomer Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai, who founded the Indian Space Programme and laid down the ambitious vision for India to use space technology to benefit the common man.
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