00:00Behind me is a 1-1 scale model of Vikram 1.
00:02The satellite that the rocket carries will sit on the top of the rocket.
00:06And only the topmost portion of the 2-3 metres only will go to the space.
00:10I spent a day inside India's first private rocket factory.
00:12What you see is Kairut Aerospace's manufacturing facility in Hyderabad,
00:16where India's first privately built launch vehicle is being assembled.
00:18Which became the first private rocket that reached space,
00:22not only from India but entire Southeast Asia.
00:24The factory is organised around the stages of a rocket, not departments.
00:27In one section, carbon composite rocket motor casings are being manufactured.
00:30This is our first stage. It's fully made up of carbon fibre composite.
00:33In another, avionics system, flight computers, navigation sensors and power units are being integrated.
00:38All these are the various molds of the various inter-stage structures.
00:42These are the nozzles which are used to steer the vehicle also.
00:45There's also a vacuum chamber used to test components under conditions that simulate space.
00:49These tests are critical, as once a rocket leaves ground, there's no scope for repair.
00:52This is the ground tested hardware to be discussed.
00:55And you can see all the brunt it has taken inside.
00:58The Skyroot facility is designed to not build a single rocket,
01:01but to build launch vehicles at regular intervals.
01:03At least one rocket a month.
01:05So behind me is a 1-1 scale model of Vikram 1.
01:07Unlike earlier systems that relied heavily on metal structures,
01:10Vikram 1, built to launch small satellites, uses large carbon composite structures to reduce weight.
01:15Pully carbon fibre composite launch vehicle.
01:18Several engines are 3D printed, shortening production cycles.
01:21FYI, Skyroot has already flown a suborbital rocket, Vikram S, in 2022.
01:25Beyond Vikram 1, Skyroot is working on a more powerful Vikram 2 and exploring reusability.
01:30What's happening here at Skyroot goes beyond one company,
01:32as it is right on track to set up precedent for India's private space ecosystem.
01:36Film Courage
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