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NEW DELHI: In a big step to prepare for its first orbital space launch, Hyderabad-based space-tech company Skyroot Aerospace has successfully test-fired the stage-2 of Vikram-1 space launch vehicle, called Kalam-250, from the Sriharikota spaceport.
Stage-2 is a critical stage in the ascent of the launch vehicle, as it propels it from the atmospheric phase to the deep vacuum of outer space.Vikram-1 launch of a private company will be a landmark event for the Indian space sector. Earlier, Skyroot had conducted the remarkable suborbital space launch of India’s first private rocket Vikram-S in Nov 2022.
The test, which lasted 85 seconds, recorded a peak sea-level thrust of 186 kilonewtons (kN), which will translate to a fully expanded vacuum thrust of around 235kN in flight. The Kalam-250 is a high-strength carbon composite rocket motor, which uses solid fuel and a high-performance ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers thermal protection system. Skyroot had previously tested Kalam-100, the third stage of Vikram-1, which was test-fired successfully in June 2021.
Skyroot co-founder and CEO Pawan Chandana said, “This is a significant milestone for the Indian space industry, marking the successful test of the largest propulsion system ever designed and manufactured by the Indian private sector so far, and the first carbon-composite-built motor tested at Isro. All test parameters are within expected bounds, and this achievement takes us another step closer to the upcoming orbital launch of the Vikram-1 rocket.”
The test also had an important contribution from Isro’s centre Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), which supplied its proprietary head-mounted safe arm for the test, used for the safe operation of the rocket stage, a company’s release said.
Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder and COO of Skyroot, said, “In this landmark test, we validated the critical system for the launch — the flex nozzle control system — during firing for the first time, making this an important milestone in our journey. We have a few more milestones to cross and are focused on achieving them in the coming months to reach our maiden orbital launch of the Vikram-1 in 2024.”
Stage-2 is a critical stage in the ascent of the launch vehicle, as it propels it from the atmospheric phase to the deep vacuum of outer space.Vikram-1 launch of a private company will be a landmark event for the Indian space sector. Earlier, Skyroot had conducted the remarkable suborbital space launch of India’s first private rocket Vikram-S in Nov 2022.
The test, which lasted 85 seconds, recorded a peak sea-level thrust of 186 kilonewtons (kN), which will translate to a fully expanded vacuum thrust of around 235kN in flight. The Kalam-250 is a high-strength carbon composite rocket motor, which uses solid fuel and a high-performance ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers thermal protection system. Skyroot had previously tested Kalam-100, the third stage of Vikram-1, which was test-fired successfully in June 2021.
Skyroot co-founder and CEO Pawan Chandana said, “This is a significant milestone for the Indian space industry, marking the successful test of the largest propulsion system ever designed and manufactured by the Indian private sector so far, and the first carbon-composite-built motor tested at Isro. All test parameters are within expected bounds, and this achievement takes us another step closer to the upcoming orbital launch of the Vikram-1 rocket.”
The test also had an important contribution from Isro’s centre Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), which supplied its proprietary head-mounted safe arm for the test, used for the safe operation of the rocket stage, a company’s release said.
Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder and COO of Skyroot, said, “In this landmark test, we validated the critical system for the launch — the flex nozzle control system — during firing for the first time, making this an important milestone in our journey. We have a few more milestones to cross and are focused on achieving them in the coming months to reach our maiden orbital launch of the Vikram-1 in 2024.”
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