ISRO launches RH 200 rocket with students’ payload

ISRO today successfully launched an RH 200 rocket carrying a payload developed by students of Vellore Institute of Technology University (VITU). The rocket blasted off from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) and attained its intended 60 km altitude in two minutes.

According to ISRO it had always encouraged students from universities to partner ISRO in payload development and towards this end students from VITU under guidance from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) had developed a part of the payload as co-passenger in the RH200 technology demonstrator flight.

The students' payload comprised tri-axial accelerometers, power switching module and safe arm relay unit matching the RH 200 rocket requirements.

The faculty and students of VITU had been deeply involved in the development and testing of the payload at various work centres.

According an ISRO release, students of the Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST) were also well on track in their attempt to develop the first indigenous students' rocket with support from VSSC's experts.

In its continued efforts to support the student community, ISRO has included a picosatellite designed by undergraduate students across India in its PSLV-C15 mission with the major objective to offer hands-on experience in frontier areas of space technology including design, fabrication and realisation of a space mission at reduced cost.

The launch has demonstrated the successful performance of super capacitors developed by VSSC in flight pyro systems activation.

According to ISRO the latest launch marked the 395th flight of RH 200 rocket. In January, 2010 the RH 200 along with RH 300 MkII and RH 560 MkII rockets made a history becoming the first ever sounding rocket launch campaign to launch six flights in a day and five flights within a span of 3 hrs 40 minutes from TERLS.