Skyroot Aerospace tests rocket stage at ISRO spaceport

Skyroot Aerospace has conducted a static fire test of the first stage of its Vikram I rocket at the dedicated test facility in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), on the barrier island of Sriharikota. The caarbon-composite Kalam 1200 uses the longest monolithic motor casing developed in India, that is realised using Skyroot's proprietary filament winding process. This first stage motor, that uses solid propellant to lift the rocket through the densest regions of Earth's atmosphere, is 11 m long, 1.7 m wide with a propellant mass of 30 tons. The motor was prepped at the Solid Propellant Plant in Sriharikota, with ISRO designing and providing the test stand. 

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The 1200 kN thrust provided by the motor is about ten times that of a Boeing 737 Max engine, and the flex nozzle for control allows for steering of the rocket during its flight through the atmosphere. The Vikram I is a three stage to orbit rocket, and is also developing a cryogenic upper stage. Previously, Skyroot Aerospace has tested and validated the avionics system, the payload separation mechanism and the retrothrusters for stage separation on the Vikram I rocket. The successful static fire test of the first stage is a significant milestone in the development of the private launch vehicle designed for small satellites. 

Skyroot Aerospace is among a number of New Space companies in India developing small rockets to cater to the tremendous demand for deploying microsatellites and nanosatellites. Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos have both conducted suborbital testflights of their launch vehicles. Skyroot Aerospace is expected to conduct the first orbital test flight with its Vikram I rocket. Agnikul Cosmos is expected to be next with its two-stage Agnibaan launch vehicle. EtherealX is developing its Razer Crest, with a reusable first stage, and Omspace is developing its Infinity launcher. ISRO is also spinning out its newest and smallest rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), designed specifically to cater to this market, to private industries through technology transfer.