India’s first private rocket Vikram-S manufactured by Skyroot Aerospace was launched from the launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. , photo credit: file photo
The future of space technology lies in reusable launch vehicle rockets, and city-based Skyroot Aerospace, which successfully carried out its maiden flight last year, is on track to build a large cryogenic rocket, creating history as the first private sector firm to do so. Simultaneously, work has started on this. engine to launch the next Vikram-1 rocket, CEO Pawan Kumar Chandna said on Friday.
“We are going for methane-based rocket which is clean chemistry and with high performance capability. Space technology will make tremendous progress in the next 10-20 years as costs come down. A rocket can fly as fast as an aircraft and can reach any part of the world in 30 minutes.
Delivering a talk titled ‘Skyroute Travel and the Future of Space Transportation’ at the Symposium on ‘Recent Trends in Space Sector: New India’ at CSIR-NGRI, Shri Pawan Kumar said that the country is in the right position to take advantage of the emerging facilities is in technology because of the enabling role played by ISRO and the government’s policy to nurture the private sector.
“We can build 70-80% cheaper than any other country and we have the talent pool to tap the opportunities. Space could be the next big thing after the IT revolution in the country. Space travel and tourism may be possible within our lifetime,” he said.
Tracing the evolution of Skyroot, the CEO said it took a ‘leap of faith’ for him and his co-founder Naga Bharath Daka to launch their startup four years ago amid ‘quite ISRO jobs and much ‘skepticism’ Was. “We are overwhelmed by the response to our first successful launch and this is a small step towards the future,” he added.
Sanjay Nekanti, CEO of Dhruva Space, talked about the ‘small satellite and technology revolution’ and its steadfast role in launching the two small satellites in November last year. “From now till 2030 around 1 lakh satellites are to be launched into space across the world and most of them are going to be small satellites. The thinking now is that there should be a constellation of satellites to provide fast internet to the global population as 50% do not have access,” he said.
Mr Nekanti said that there are many countries which have not sent rockets into space but want satellite based communication, navigation and weather forecasting capability for which small satellites can be preferred. He urged scientists from various departments to come up with payloads to be included in the satellites, which can provide myriad solutions when launched into space.