Sriharikodta : India created history by successfully launching its first private-sector rocket  “Vikram-S” , a suborbital vehicle developed by Skyroot Aerospace.

Vikram-S crossed the target of 80 km  above sea level and peaked at an altitude 89.5km. The rocket began its descent soon after and safely splashed in the Bay of Bengal, about 130 km away from land.

The rocket was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre,  sriharikota on Friday carrying three Cubesats at 11.30 am under the mission named  “Prarambh” (the Beginning).

The successful launch marked the foray of the private sector into the country’s space industry, dominated by the state-run ISRO for decades. Skyroot  Aerospace became the first prive company in india to give a boost to the Indian space programme, after the central government opened the sector to private players in 2020.

The launch vehicle has been named so as tribute to the father of the Indian Space programme, the Late Vikram Sarabhai. Vikram-S is single-stage fuel rocket meant to test most systems and processes in Skyroot Aerospace’s project ahead of the launch of Vikram-1 scheduled for next year.

The launch is also a sub-orbital one, meaning the vehicle will reach outer space, it will not remain in orbit around the Earth, with the flight time being less than five minutes