Hyderabad-based Skyroot successfully tests largest private rocket stage, readies Vikram-1 for first orbital launch
Skyroot Aerospace
on Friday successfully test fired
Kalam-1200
, the first-stage solid booster of its
Vikram-1
rocket, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in
Sriharikota
, taking a major step towards the rocket's maiden orbital launch later this year.
The 30-tonne carbon composite motor, developed with support from
ISRO
is named after former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. It is the largest solid rocket stage ever built by India's private sector. At 11 metres long, it can generate nearly 1,200 kN of peak thrust in a vacuum, about 10 times the power of a Boeing 737 Max engine.
The latest test ran for about 110 seconds, with the booster delivering thrust within expected limits throughout the burn, the startup said.
Pawan Kumar Chandana, cofounder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, said,'Witnessing Kalam-1200 roar to life at the test stand was an exhilarating yet humbling experience. It is the culmination of years of hard engineering by the young team at Skyroot.'
Engineers also validated its ballistic performance, burn rate, thermal protection system, and flex-nozzle steering mechanism which will guides the rocket's trajectory in flight.
During the launch, Kalam-1200 will lift Vikram-1 to an altitude of over 50 km before the upper stages take over to place satellites in
orbit
. The solid propellant casting for the motor was done at ISRO's SDSC-SHAR facilities.
Space regulator and promoter IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka congratulated the team on X, calling the milestone 'a landmark achievement.'
Founded in 2018 by former ISRO engineers, Hyderabad-based Skyroot is developing its Vikram-series rockets to offer on-demand, customised launches for small satellites. It has since raised about $100 million from investors including GIC and Temasek.
The Vikram-1 launch, expected later this year, will be a landmark moment, making Skyroot the first Indian startup to put a privately built rocket into orbit.
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