Vikram-1, India’s first private space rocket, and the team behind it – Technology News, Firstpost

Explainers FPMay 19, 2022 2:32:02 PM IST

This is a good day for space lovers of India.

Hyderabad-based private sector missile maker Skyroot Aerospace Private Ltd has announced that it has successfully completed a full test launch of the first-ever Vikram-1 private missile for commercial missions in India.

We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the full duration of static fire tests of the degree of missile Vikram-1 “Kalam-100”.

Peak thrust: ~ 10 tons
Carbon fiber
Burning time: 108 s

Witness the roar in our shooting footage: https://t.co/3DhKB8O2nj 🔥🔥#MadeInIndia pic.twitter.com/hzfLg7p2wB

– Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) May 19, 2022

This test phase, named “Kalam-100” in honor of the famous Indian rocket builder and former APJ President Abdul Kalam, was held on May 5, 2022 at Solar Industries, Nagpur, and thanks to this the company is on track to launch its first complete rocket.

All about Vikram-1

Vikram-1 is a Skyroot Aerospace launch vehicle with a small lift, which must have a payload of 225 kg to 500 km to launch small satellites.

It got its name from the father of the Indian space program Vikram Sarabhai.

According to information, Vikram-1 has three stages running on solid fuel. Each stage has a burning time ranging from 80 to 108 seconds.

According to An IANS It is reported that the rocket stage is built of a high-strength structure of carbon fiber, solid fuel, thermal protection system ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers (EPDM) and carbon ablation nozzle.

After testing, Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aeropsace, said, “I can’t wait to see this fly soon.”

It’s amazing how much energy this rocket stage contains, and witnessing live trials with this fiery roar is priceless

Unforgettable experience of working with a team at this key milestone

Can’t wait to see this fly soon🚀🚀

Shots: https://t.co/KXvCDlu1Dw @SkyrootA https://t.co/9fIHE7I0y0 pic.twitter.com/PUL3dRWaYQ

– Pawan (@PawanKChandana) May 19, 2022

Men behind Vikram-I

Vikram-I is the brainchild of Skyroot Aerospace Private Ltd. The Hyderabad-based company was founded in 2018 by a team of rocket engineers who previously worked at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), including CEO and co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana.

Skyroot’s mission, according to their website, is: “Affordable, on-demand and reliable space travel.”

It adds: “We are on a mission to open up space to all by pushing the boundaries of modern technology. We are working on a future where space will be a part of our lives, and such a transition will change humanity like never before. ”

The co-founder of Skyroot is Pawan Chandana, who previously worked at ISRO. During his stay there he worked for five years on India’s largest missile GSLV Mk-III. He also worked as a systems engineer for the world’s third-largest S200 solid-propellant rocket, the GSLV Mk-3 launch vehicle.

The IIT-Kharagpur graduate said in previous interviews that he did not regret choosing ISRO before going abroad for further study.

“Without thinking, I went for an interview and fortunately was elected. I was lucky to get, despite the relatively low performance – the other three selected were among the best, “- he quotes. India todayadding that it was his experience at ISRO that he learned about rocketry, where he realized he could develop it privately, as SpaceX and Rocket Lab do abroad.

In 2018, he left ISRO and together with Naga Bharat Dhaka founded Skyroot Aerospace Private Ltd. Dhaka is a graduate of IIT-Madras and he also worked at ISRO. As the Chief Space Agency of India, he worked as a flight computer engineer at VSSC and created hardware and firmware for several key onboard computer modules that implement the functions of sequence, navigation, control and guidance of the launch vehicle.

Daky was quoted as saying: “This is the best-in-class missile grade of this size, with record-breaking rocket fuel loading and firing times, and using the entire carbon composite structure to achieve the best performance.”

Chandana, 31, who is also considered by many to be an Indian Elon Musk, believes that there is a huge untapped market in the aerospace sector.

“The future of small satellites for observation and communication with small missiles – India accounts for only two percent of this business for $ 370 billion,” he said in the past.

Let’s see if its high ambitions will bear fruit, and India will also soon be able to launch private rockets into space – like SpaceX!

With the participation of agencies

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