Kochi: A private space firm Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched six payloads into low-Earth orbit aboard Vikram-1 to become the country’s maiden outfit developed orbital launch vehicle.
The Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace carried four payloads beside two satellites
on the 23-metre-tall, 1.7-metre-diameter launch vehicle which lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, at 11.30 am as part of Mission Aagaman. The rocket carried the payloads into a 450-km low-Earth orbit at an inclination of about 60 degrees, Times of India reported.
The payloads include Cosmic Bloom, an artwork created from lab-grown diamonds by Cosmos Diamonds, a micro-art payload, and a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Built using advanced carbon-composite structures, Vikram-1 is a three-stage solid-fuel launch vehicle equipped with a restartable liquid-fuelled Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM) for precise orbital insertion and deployment of multiple satellites. It is designed to carry up to 350 kg to low-Earth orbit and about 260 kg to Sun-synchronous orbit, targeting the growing global market for dedicated and rideshare launches of small satellites for Earth observation, communication, scientific and technology demonstration missions.
The flight is the first of three planned developmental missions before Vikram-1 enters commercial service.
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India launches first private satellites
