India's first privately developed rocket likely to be launched next week

NEW DELHI: India's first privately-developed rocket - Vikram-S will be launched from Sriharikota between November 12 and 16. With this, Hyderabad-based space startup Skyroot Aerospace will be foraying into the rocket manufacturing sector, which was the ISRO's exclusive domain till now. The aim is to launch satellites on a commercial basis. The rocket was named Vikram-S in honour of Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian space program.

The maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, named 'Prarambh' (the beginning), will carry three customer payloads to space. Pawan Kumar Chandana, CEO of Skyroot Aerospace, said that the launch should be at the time fixed by ISRO. In 2020, the central government had allowed private participation in the space sector.