While the authorities had initially notified a launch window between November 12-16, the date had to be revised due to bad weather. 
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While the authorities had initially notified a launch window between November 12-16, the date had to be revised due to bad weather. Vikram-S, the country's first privately developed rocket, will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 18 at 11:30 am. Developed by space start-up Skyroot Aerospace under its mission 'Prarambh', the launch will be held at ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Union Minister of state for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh took to Twitter yesterday to share the news of the launch. "Arrived at #Sriharikota late this evening. Countdown begins for maiden private Rocket launch scheduled tomorrow forenoon. A new chapter in public-private-participation unfolding under Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
"Best wishes to Team "Skyroot Aerospace" and #ISRO. Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making this effort possible. Looking forward to historic launch tomorrow from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota. #OpeningSpaceForAll," the Minister added.
While the authorities had initially notified a launch window between November 12-16, the date had to be revised due to bad weather.
"Mission set. Happy to announce the authorization received from IN-SPACe yesterday for 18 November ’22, 11:30 AM, after final checks on readiness and weather," Skyroot Aerospace said on Twitter. "With the big day looming large, here it is! Catch a glimpse of Vikram-S rocket integrated to the launcher."
The Vikram-S rocket is part of Skyroot’s Vikram series launch vehicles, which pay homage to the founder of the country’s space programme, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. The Vikram-S rocket will be powered by the Kalam 80 propulsion system that will ignite the three-stage rocket to an altitude of 120 kilometers above the surface of Earth. The mission will carry three payloads that will be deployed during the sub-orbital flight to demonstrate the capability of the rocket to take heavy payloads to space in the future.
Skyroot has been developing three variants of the Vikram rocket. While the Vikram-I can carry 480 kilograms of payload to Low Earth Orbit, the Vikram-II is equipped to lift off with 595 kilograms of cargo. Meanwhile, Vikram-III can launch with an 815 kg to 500 km Low Inclination Orbit.
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