Space News ,India :- Indian space startups, Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos, are gearing up for a series of launches between 2024 and early 2025, as per the latest release from the Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). The manifesto outlines seven planned launches, marking the maiden commercial missions for these space tech start-ups.
Currently, Hyderabad's Skyroot is leading the way as the only private player in space launches. Having launched the Vikram-S vehicle as a tech demonstrator in 2022, Skyroot is now focusing on its orbital Vikram-1 launch vehicle.
Meanwhile, Agnikul Cosmos from Chennai is preparing to launch its Agnibaan-Sorted vehicle, serving as a sub-orbital mission and a tech demonstrator/validator for the startup, similar to Skyroot's Vikram-S.
According to IN-SPACe's manifesto, Agnibaan-Sorted is scheduled to launch in the last quarter of FY 2023-24, though a specific timeframe is yet to be confirmed.
The commercial debuts are set for the first quarter of FY 2024-25, with Skyroot launching Vikram-1, marking its first commercial mission. IN-SPACe's manifesto indicates that Skyroot plans to continue its commercial launches in the following three quarters.
Agnikul Cosmos will make its commercial entry in the third quarter of FY 2024-25, launching the Agnibaan vehicle. Another launch is anticipated in the fourth quarter of the same fiscal year, as outlined in the manifesto.
The manifesto highlights the involvement of non-governmental entities (NGEs) like Digantara Research & Technology, Dhruvaspace, Space Kidz India, and academic institutes in planned sub-orbital and orbital launches by Agnikul Cosmos and Skyroot Aerospace.
Overall, the manifesto outlines a total of around 30 launches planned for 2023-2024 (Q4) and 2024-2025 from Sriharikota. Additionally, seven test launches for India's human flight mission, Gaganyaan, are also scheduled during this period.
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