Why in news ?                                                   

"Marking the beginning of private sector launches, the mission named ‘Prarambh’ will see Vikram-S carry three customer satellites in a sub-orbital flight.

“We could build and get our Vikram-S rocket mission ready in such a short time only because of the invaluable support we received from ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), and the technology talent that we inherently possess. We are proud to announce our path-breaking mission ‘Prarambh’ dedicated to the Indian private space sector, which has hugely benefited from the reforms and vision of the Government of India,” said Pawan Kumar Chandna, CEO and co-founder of Skyroot.

What are the key Takeaways?

1. The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which will carry three customer payloads and help test and validate technologies in the Vikram series space launch vehicles.
2. Sub-orbital flight are those vehicles which are travelling slower than the orbital velocity – meaning it is fast enough to reach outer space but not fast enough to stay in an orbit around the Earth.
   
3. The mission will help the company test its systems in space.
   
4. The company is designing three Vikram rockets that will use various solid and cryogenic fuels to carry between 290 kg and 560 kg payloads to sun-synchronous polar orbits.
   
5. In comparison, India’s workhorse PSLV can carry up to 1,750kg to such an orbit while the newly-developed small satellite launch vehicle – meant for carrying smaller commercial satellites – can carry up to 300 kg to sun-synchronous orbit.
   
6. As for private satellite missions, ISRO’s heaviest launch vehicle Mark III launched 36 OneWeb satellites (India’s Bharti is a stakeholder). The space agency will be launching another fleet of 36 satellites for the company as well. Other than that, the space agency has also launched at least four satellites made by students.

1. The government in June 2020 approved the creation of a new organisation to ensure greater private participation in India’s space activities.
   
2. The new Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), assesses the needs and demands of private players, including educational and research institutions, and, explore ways to accommodate these requirements in consultation with ISRO. Existing ISRO infrastructure, both ground- and space-based, scientific and technical resources, and even data are made accessible to interested parties to enable them to carry out their space-related activities.

Source :- UPSC Essentials: One word a day – ‘Prarambh’, the space mission | UPSC Current Affairs News,The Indian Express