Govt helps private sector fuel India’s space vision

• On 18 November 2022, the first private space mission, suborbital space vehicle Vikram-S was successfully launched under the launch which was part of the
Mission Prarambh.

• The government intends to unlock the potential of India’s youth and entrepreneurs and promote private sector activity in space research. The government signed multiple MoUs with private companies for space projects.

• ISRO made history on 18 November 2022 by successfully launching India’s maiden private Vikram-suborbital (VKS) rocket to grace the skies. Skyroot Aerospace launched India’s first privately made rocket, Vikram-S on a suborbital flight. The launch vehicle lifted-off with three payloads from the sounding rocket complex at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

• Union Minister of Science and Technology and MoS PMO, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh personally witnessed the momentous occasion at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh and described it as a new beginning in India’s Space journey, a turning point for India’s StartUp movement. This is a major milestone in the journey of ISRO, after Prime Minister Modi unlocked the space sector in 2020 for private participation. In a statement, ISRO said, “Mission Prarambh is successfully accomplished”, while Skyroot Aerospace said, “Vikram-S makes history as the first private rocket of India to grace the skies.”