Sounding Rockets of India

[Indx TechStyle]

Rohini family

ATV (Scramjet based Rohini 560)

Vyom (IIST students' rocket)

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO eyeing 200th successful launch of RH-200 sounding rocket in a row
3.5-metre-tall RH-200 is a trusted member of the Rohini sounding rocket family used by ISRO for atmospheric studies

An RH-200 lifting off from Thumba in 2014 (File Pic)

In a few weeks’ time, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) hopes to achieve a remarkable feat — the 200th successful launch of the Rohini RH-200 sounding rocket in a row.

The 3.5-metre-tall RH-200, a trusted member of the Rohini sounding rocket family used by the ISRO for atmospheric studies, has completed 198 consecutive successful flights, according to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba.

The 199th launch, from Thumba, will happen on October 7 during the World Space Week celebrations. The 200th will take place either towards the end of October or the beginning of November, VSSC Director S. Unnikrishnan Nair told The Hindu on Saturday.

‘’When RH-200 was first introduced, we were taking our baby steps in rocketry. So there was focus on aspects such as spin-stabilisation and solid motors, in addition to atmospheric studies. Sounding rockets have since been used for a variety of experiments, including those on phenomena related to eclipses,” Dr. Unnikrishnan Nair said.

RH-200 is a two-stage rocket capable of climbing to a height of 70 km bearing scientific payloads. The first and second stages of RH-200 are powered by solid motors. The ‘200’ in the name denotes the diameter of the rocket in mm. Other operational Rohini variants are RH-300 Mk-II and RH-560 Mk-III.

Sounding rockets have an important place in the ISRO story. The first sounding rocket to be launched from Thumba was the American Nike-Apache - on November 21, 1963. After that, two-stage rockets imported from Russia (M-100) and France (Centaure) were flown. The ISRO launched its own version - Rohini RH-75 - in 1967.

The sounding rocket programme ‘‘was indeed the bedrock on which the edifice of launch vehicle technology was built”, the space agency has noted.

Today, these small rockets are launched both from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

The ISRO has launched more than 1,600 RH-200 rockets so far. The rocket celebrated its 100th consecutive successful mission on July 15, 2015. Over the years, the rocket has served as a flexible platform for experiments and testing out new technologies.

For years, the RH-200 rocket had used a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based propellant. The first RH-200 to use a new propellant based on hydroxyl-terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB) was successfully flown from the TERLS in September 2020.

 

[Love Charger]

I see missiles in these

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO to attempt 200th consecutively successful launch of RH-200 sounding rocket on Wednesday

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will attempt the 200th consecutively successful launch of the Rohini RH-200 sounding rocket on Wednesday from Thumba.

Former President Ram Nath Kovind will be present at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) - ISRO’s lead unit on launch vehicles - to witness the launch.

The launch window is between 11 a.m. and 12 noon, a VSSC official said.

Mr. Kovind will address the VSSC community and release a coffee-table book on the RH-200 rocket. ISRO chairman S. Somanath and VSSC director S. Unnikrishnan Nair will be present.

The event is not open to the public, VSSC said.

RH-200 is a solid motor-powered, expendable rocket capable of climbing up to a height of 70 km bearing payloads designed to study the upper atmosphere.

An RH-200 had lifted off successfully from Thumba for the 199th time in a row during the World Space Week celebrations in October this year.

ISRO has launched more than 1,600 RH-200 rockets so far. The rocket had flown on its 100th consecutively successful mission on July 15, 2015.

Along with other Rohini variants like the RH-300 Mk-II and RH-560 Mk-III, this sounding rocket has served as a platform for experiments and new technologies.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO eyeing 200th successful launch of RH-200 sounding rocket in a row
3.5-metre-tall RH-200 is a trusted member of the Rohini sounding rocket family used by ISRO for atmospheric studies

An RH-200 lifting off from Thumba in 2014 (File Pic)

ISRO to attempt 200th consecutively successful launch of RH-200 sounding rocket on Wednesday

Members not to get confused considering both posts displaying same article.

First article is from September before 199th launch which happened on 7th October and second one is from November before 200th launch which is upcoming tomorrow.

Regards

 

[Varoon2]

Any idea of the number of launches of RH-300 and RH-560, including their upgraded versions( i.e Mk 1 Mk2, Mk 3)

 

[Swesh]

@Indx TechStyle @Vamsi

 

[Indx TechStyle]

ISRO launches 'RH-200' sounding rocket | WION
100th consecutive success

 

[Varoon2]

Nice^ Was this launch conducted on Sunday? It's interesting that we don't hear much about the TERLS station, technically many more launches have taken place there, albeit of small rockets.

 

[Varoon2]

ISRO launches 'RH-200' sounding rocket | WION
100th consecutive success

Nice^ Was this launch conducted on Sunday? It's interesting that we don't hear much about the TERLS station, technically many more launches have taken place there, albeit of small rockets.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Nice^ Was this launch conducted on Sunday? It's interesting that we don't hear much about the TERLS station, technically many more launches have taken place there, albeit of small rockets.

These are called sounding rockets sent to little altitudes for research purpose. They don't inject satellites into orbit.

 

[Swesh]

Nice^ Was this launch conducted on Sunday? It's interesting that we don't hear much about the TERLS station, technically many more launches have taken place there, albeit of small rockets.

Sounding Rockets

Sounding RocketsSounding rockets are usually one or two stage solid propellant rockets. They are primarily intended for probing the upper atmospheric regions using rocket-borne instrumentation. They also serve as platforms for testing prototypes of new components or subsystems intended for use in launch vehicles and satellites. The launch of the first sounding rocket US made ‘Nike Apache’ from Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on November 21, 1963, marked the beginning of the Indian Space Programme. Later days saw launching of two-stage rockets imported from Russia (M-100) and France (Centaure). While M-100 could carry a payload of 70 kg to an altitude of 85 km, the Centaure was capable of reaching 150 km with a payload of approximately 30 kg. In 1970, the Hydrometeorological Services of the USSR signed an agreement with ISRO to launch their meteorological sounding rockets, M-100, every week, from TERLS. This programme continued uninterruptedly till 1993.

In 1967, ISRO started launching a series of our own sounding rockets named Rohini from TERLS. RH-75, with a diameter of 75mm was the first truly Indian sounding rocket, which was followed by RH-100 and RH-125 rockets. The sounding rocket programme was indeed the bedrock on which the edifice of launch vehicle technology was built. The experience gained was of immense value in mastering of solid propellant technology and allied systems of the launch vehicles.Several scientific missions with national and international participation have been conducted using the Rohini sounding rockets.

Operational sounding Rockets

Currently, operational sounding rockets include three versions namely RH-200, RH-300-Mk-II and RH-560-Mk-III. These cover a payload range of 8 to 100 kg and an apogee range of 80 to 475 km. The details are as given below.

Source: https://www.vssc.gov.in/soundingRockets.html