India’s first hybrid rocket launched from Tamil Nadu’s Pattipulam

India’s first hybrid rocket launched on Sunday at Devaneri Village near Mamallapuram, ECR. Chief guest Tamilisai Soundararajan Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry greets teammates.
| Photo Credit: M. Karunakaran

India’s first hybrid sounding rocket by private players was launched from Pattipulam village, Chengalpattu in the presence of Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Martin Foundation, in association with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Space Zone India, launched the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission- 2023.

The organisations mentioned that 5,000 students were involved in the project. The selected students designed and constructed a student satellite launch vehicle (rocket) and 150 PICO satellite research experiment cubes that contained different payloads. The reusable rocket was made by the selected top 100 students, while the rest made the satellites. The rocket can be used for research in weather, atmospheric conditions and radiations.

Mylswamy Annadurai, former director of ISRO Satellite Centre, said that the launch was a success. He told the students to explore opportunities in the space sector. Both the foundations said that the selected students learnt not only about satellite technology but also learnt more about STEM.