VIKRAM-S, India’s 1st Pvt. Rocket

Vikram-S, India’s first privately developed rocket, lifted off recently from the Indian Space
Research Organization’s (ISRO) launchpad in Sriharikota.
Background:

• The mission, codenamed Prarambh (the beginning), is the Indian private sector’s first entry
  into the lucrative space launch market.
  About Vikram-S rocket:
• It is a single-stage solid-fuel suborbital launch vehicle named after Vikram Sarabhai, the
  pioneer of India’s space program.
  o The spacecraft travels slower than the orbital velocity in a sub-orbital flight, which
  means it is fast enough to reach outer space but not fast enough to maintain an orbit
  around the Earth.
• The launch vehicle’s engine, Kalam-80, is named after former President A P J Abdul Kalam.
• The Vikram-S is a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) that will carry payloads weighing
  between 290 and 560 kg (PSLV, India’s workhorse, can carry up to 1,750 kg) into sunsynchronous polar orbits.