News Excerpt: 

Skyroot Aerospace, the leading space-tech company, has successfully test-fired the Stage-2 of Vikram-1 space launch vehicle, called Kalam-250, at the propulsion testbed of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), at its Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

About stage-2 of Vikram 1:

• Stage 2 is critical in the ascent of the launch vehicle, as it propels it from the atmospheric phase to the deep vacuum of outer space.
• The test, which lasted 85 seconds, recorded a peak sea-level thrust of 186 kilonewtons (kN), which will translate to a fully expanded vacuum thrust of around 235kN in flight. 
• The Kalam-250 is a high-strength carbon composite rocket motor that uses solid fuel and a high-performance Ethylene-Propylene-Diene terpolymers (EPDM) Thermal Protection System (TPS).
• Stage houses a carbon ablative flex nozzle along with high-precision electro-mechanical actuators for thrust vector control of the vehicle, crucial for achieving the desired trajectory.
• The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), another center of ISRO, provided its proprietary head-mounted safe arm (HMSA) for the test, aiding in the safe operation of the rocket stage.
• Skyroot had previously tested Kalam-100, the third stage of Vikram-1, which was test-fired successfully in June 2021.

About skyroot Aerospace:

• Skyroot Aerospace, the national-award-winning startup.
• India’s first privately built space launch vehicles.
• The firm, founded by former scientists of the Indian Space Research organization (ISRO),
• Skyroot Aerospace has a  150 plus member strong team actively developing their flagship Vikram series of space launch vehicles, named after ISRO founder Vikram Sarabhai.       
• Spacetech start-up Skyroot Aerospace successfully tested Dhawan-1 which it claims to be the country’s first privately developed fully cryogenic rocket engine.