Skyroot makes history! 6 payloads put into low-Earth orbit aboard pvt rocket Vikram-1

CHENNAI: India on Friday marked a major milestone in the opening of its space sector to private players as Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace successfully carried six payloads including two satellites into low-Earth orbit aboard Vikram-1, the country's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle.The 23-metre-tall, 1.7-metre-diameter launch vehicle lifted off from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, at 11.30 am as part of Mission Aagaman. The rocket carried the payloads into a 450-km low-Earth orbit at an inclination of about 60 degrees, meeting the mission's primary objective of validating India's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle.The mission also carried symbolic payloads, including Cosmic Bloom, an artwork created from lab-grown diamonds by Cosmos Diamonds, a micro-art payload, and a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Built using advanced carbon-composite structures, Vikram-1 is a three-stage solid-fuel launch vehicle equipped with a restartable liquid-fuelled…