10, 9, 8, 7… Why India’s small rocket mission isn’t taking off
Mint finds out why things are going slow. The SSLV is a small rocket, both in size and capacity, in comparison with other rockets that the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) can carry up to 1.75 tonnes in satellite payload.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) can carry up to 8 tonnes. But large-capacity rockets have long waitlists as they wait for a single large order—the ‘primary’ payload. Hence, private commercial firms often wait for years until they can launch their small satellites.
This model helps cut satellite launch costs. The SSLV can help resolve this with faster, cheaper launch cycles. While the first SSLV demo launch was a part-failure, the second was a success.
Nodal agency In-Space’s FY25 launch schedule shows only three scheduled launches in the next 12 months. A large part of this is due to engineering requirements: a key part of making small rockets successful is reliability, which often takes years in the space sector. However, apart from this, the space sector itself has been slow—with demand for commercial operators being limited.
SpaceX, the most successful private space firm so far, has had only two non-SpaceX and non-Nasa missions this year, and 19 last year. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the SSLV’s biggest rival, thanks to the former’s small satellite ride-share programme. The next one is US-based Rocket Labs, which uses its small rocket ‘Electron’ for frequent launch missions.
Others include French firm Arianespace’s upcoming rockets. In India, startups Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos hope to grab a piece of the pie. Slowing demand, particularly in the US, means firms that had plans for commercial small-satellite
. Read more on livemint.com
