The Vikram-S launch opens exciting possibilities for space exploration in India

Subject: Science and Technology

Context-

On Friday, India’s space programme accomplished a landmark when the country’s first privately-developed rocket lifted off from ISRO’s launch pad in Sriharikota.

Mission Prarambh and the Vikram-S rocket-

The mission named ‘Prarambh’ will see Vikram-S carry three customer satellites in a sub-orbital flight.
The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which will carry three customer payloads and help test and validate technologies in the Vikram series space launch vehicles.
The mission will help the company test its systems in space.
The company is designing three Vikram rockets that will use various solid and cryogenic fuels to carry between 290 kg and 560 kg payloads to sun-synchronous polar orbits.
In comparison, India’s workhorse PSLV can carry up to 1,750kg to such an orbit while the newly-developed small satellite launch vehicle – meant for carrying smaller commercial satellites – can carry up to 300 kg to sun-synchronous orbit.

What is a sub-orbital flight-

Sub-orbital flight, just like the ones undertaken by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, are those vehicles which are travelling slower than orbital velocity – meaning it is fast enough to reach outer space but not fast enough to stay in an orbit around the Earth.

Private participation in Space sector-

According to industry data, India has more than 350 private firms in the space sector making it the fifth-largest in the world in this respect after the US, UK, Canada and Germany.
But the country’s share in the global space economy is barely 3 per cent.
The government intends to increase this to 10 per cent by 2030.

Space sector start-ups-

In June 2020, it approved the participation of private players in all sectors of space activity — earlier they could only be vendors or suppliers.
It also instituted the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, a unit of ISRO, to enable private companies to become independent players.
Skyroot, Agnikul cosmos and Pixxon are start-ups in this sector.
Agnikul Cosmos, a Chennai-based start-up, is planning the commercial launch of its rocket Agnibaan in the first quarter of next year.
Last week, the company test-fired its first rocket engine — manufactured in one go, unlike conventional engines which are assembled using thousands of parts — from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

Companies such as Skyroot and Agnikool promise cost-efficiency as well as innovation.