Table of Contents
PRIVATE COMPANIES IN SPACE
- History was made on May 31 2020 when a SpaceX spacecraft carried two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. With this milestone, private participation in space exploration, thus far the exclusive domain of governments, is set to soar.
PRIVATE SPACE COMPANIES IN U.S AND CHINA
- Leading players include OneSpace, LandSpace, LinkSpaceand iSpace, which last year became the first Chinese private space company to successfully launch a rocket into orbit. Last summer, LinkSpace’sthird reusable test rocket reached 1,000 feet and landed successfully in western China.
- In U.S companies like Space X and Blue Origin are set to rule in the coming decades
INDIA LEFT BEHIND
- Sadly India was left behind in the race to build strong private sector companies in the field of space
- But all that is about to change
- The announcement of IN-SPACe, the Narendra Modi government has opened the space sector for private participation in a big way.
IN-SPACE
- An autonomous body IN-SPACe(Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) would be established under the Department of Space (DoS) for permitting and regulating activities of the private space sector. This nodal entity would have its own independent directorates for technical, legal, safety and security, monitoring as well as activities promotion for assessing the private industry requirements and further coordinating the activities.
SKYROOT AEROSPACE
- India’s aerospace companySkyroot will launch rockets into space by December 2021 with the help of ISRO.
- Skyroot has named its first launch rocket Vikram-I. Skyroot Aerospace is the first Indian startup, through which successful testing of the country’s first private rocket engine ‘Raman’ has been completed.
HOMEGROWN ROCKET ENGINE
- On 12 August, the 101st birth anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai, Hyderabad-based space-launch startupSkyroot Aerospace became the first Indian private company to successfully test-fire a homegrown rocket engine.
RAMAN
- The engine, named Ramanafter Nobel laureate C V Raman, is meant for the upper-stage of the series of launch platforms the company is currently working on. The upper-stage of the rocket delivers thrust for the last part of the rocket’s journey before the payload is deployed in the designated orbit.
- It is the first entirely 3-D printed rocket engine in the country, and Skyroot says it is capable of producing a thrust of around 3.4kN.
TARGET 2021
- If all goes well, the company is looking forward to a maiden launch by December 2021, with the support and guidance of the Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO).
THE ROCKETS
- Vikram I is meant to lift 225 kg to 500 km Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit(SSPO) and 315 kg to 45º inclination 500 km Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Vikram II is designed for 410 kg to 500 km SSPO and 520 kg to 45º inclination 500km LEO. In case of Vikram III we are looking at 580 kg to 500 km SSPO and 720 kg to 45º inclination 500 km LEO.
ANOTHER PRIVATE COMPANY SET TO LAUNCH A ROCKET IN 2022
Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF
WhatsApp