The Svalbard missions

Subject : International Relations / Technology

Concept :

In 1997, a Rohini RH-300 Mk-II sounding rocket rose to the skies from Svalbard, Norway which was shipped by India.

Key details:

The solid propellant-powered rocket was shipped from India by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The RH-300 Mk-II was given a new name by the NSC (Norwegian Space Centre): Isbjorn-1, which translates literally as ‘Polar Bear-I.’
ISRO had shipped the RH-300 Mk-II to Norway after qualifying it for arctic weather conditions.
Weather Challenges:
- The Rohini rockets had till then flown only in the tropical hot and humid conditions in India.
- The Svalbard archipelago, on the other hand, sits in the Arctic Ocean and temperatures were on the extremely low side.
- Designed to launch a 70 kg payload to an altitude of 120 km, the RH-300 would carry a Langmuir Probe on-board, to undertake Polar Ionospheric studies.
- In 1997, the Isbjorn-1 took to the skies, reaching, however, an altitude of only 71 km.
- Its range, too, fell short of the designed 129 km, by 35 km.