Vikram-S rocket set to fly off today

Chennai: The countdown for the Friday launch of Skyroot Aerospace-developed rocket Vikram-S, with three small satellites, will begin three hours before the lift-off time which is fixed at 11.30 a.m, said an official.

"The countdown will begin three hours before the rocket's lift off. The rocket is expected to lift off at 11.30 a.m. on Friday. The countdown time is less as it is a small rocket," a senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS.

Further, the single-stage rocket is powered with solid fuel which has also cut down the countdown time.

The official said the rocket will fly off from the ISRO's sounding rocket launch pad at the Sriharikota rocket port.

On Friday, Skyroot Aerospace is expected to become India's first private sector company to develop and fly a rocket.

The Hyderabad-based rocket startup was founded by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka in June 2018. Till date, the company has raised Rs 526 crore funds and has about 200 employees. Its 545 kg, six-metre-long rocket will carry three satellites from Space Kidz India, Bazoomq Armenia, and N-Space Tech India.

In 25 seconds after the liftoff and at an altitude of 17.9 km, the rocket's engine will burn out. The rocket would eject its payload at an altitude of 81.5 km.