BENGALURU, India (ISRO PR) — Department of Space has today, September 11, 2021, entered into a Framework MoU with M/s Skyroot Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad for access to ISRO facilities and expertise towards the development and testing of subsystems/systems of Space Launch Vehicles. The Framework MoU will enable the company for undertaking multiple tests and access facilities at various ISRO centers and also enable to avail technical expertise of ISRO for testing and qualifying their space launch vehicle systems and subsystems.
Skyroot Aerospace and India’s Department of Space have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that will enable the Hyderabad-based startup to access the facilities and technical expertise available in ISRO centers to proceed with development of its Vikram family of launch vehicles.
On Thursday, a commercial Indian launch startup named Skyroot Aerospace unveiled its Dhawan-1 cryogenic engine to mark the 100th anniversary of Indian rocket pioneer Satish Dhawan.
The company said the engine is 100 percent 3D printed using additive manufacturing. It will be powered by liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen.
Satish Dhawan was an Indian aerospace engineer who was a pioneer experimental fluid dynamics research. He served as the third chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The nation’s spaceport is named after him.
Dhawan-1 will be used as the upper stage of Skyroot’s Vikram II booster. The company is developing three Vikram rockets to serve the small satellite launch market.
Vikrams will launch payloads ranging from 225 kg to 720 kg depending upon the rocket used and the orbit desired. Skyroot says the boosters can be assembled and launched within 24 to 72 hours with minimal infrastructure.
According to a story in the Economic Times, Skyroot was founded by three former ISRO employee who are looking to take advantage of India’s decision to allow private space companies to operate.
