“We will be flying the student satellite in the Vikram-S rocket. The fee for carrying the satellite is under discussion with Skyroot Aerospace. The satellite was built by students and in some cases with their grandparents,” founder-CEO Srimathy Kesan told IANS.
Designing a payload by kids along with their grandparents was the fun element that was introduced this time around. There were a couple of grandparents who had bought the kits and assembled the same, she said.
According to her, the satellite was developed in about 8-9 months and the 80 students were from Classes 6 to 12.
Kesan said there are 80 boards on the payload and about 10-15 experiments could be done.
On Tuesday, Skyroot Aerospace said it would fly its rocket Vikram-S with three payloads between November 12 and 16 from Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) rocket port in Sriharikota.
The Hyderabad-based rocket startup has named the mission “Prarambh” (“the beginning”), signifying a new era for the private space sector.
With this maiden mission, Skyroot Aerospace is set to become the first private space company in India to launch a rocket into space, heralding a new era for the space sector which was recently opened up to facilitate private sector participation, the company said.
–IANS