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Rohini Sounding Rocket

Posted on September 27, 2022 by admin1  1932

In Context

  • The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) hopes to achieve a remarkable feat — the 200th successful launch of the Rohini RH-200 sounding rocket in a row.

About

  • RH-200 is a two-stage rocket capable of climbing to a height of 70 km bearing scientific payloads. 
  • It is 3.5-metre-tall and is used by the ISRO for atmospheric studies.
    • The  Rohini RH-200  has completed 198 consecutive successful flights.
    • The 199th launch, from Thumba, will happen on October 7,2022 during the World Space Week celebrations. 
  • The ‘200’ in the name denotes the diameter of the rocket in mm. 
  • The ISRO has launched more than 1,600 RH-200 rockets so far.
  • Other operational Rohini variants are RH-300 Mk-II and RH-560 Mk-III.
  • Over the years, the rocket has served as a flexible platform for experiments and testing out new technologies.

What is a Sounding Rocket?

  • A sounding rocket is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. 
    • The rockets are used to launch instruments from 48 to 145 km above the surface of the Earth.

Rohini (Rocket family)

  • Rohini is a series of sounding rockets developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for meteorological and atmospheric study. 
  • These sounding rockets are capable of carrying payloads of 2 to 200 kilograms between altitudes of 100 to 500 kms.
  • The ISRO currently uses RH-200, RH-300, RH-300 Mk-II, RH-560 Mk-II and RH-560 Mk-III rockets, which are launched from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching (TERLS) in Thumba and the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.

 

  • 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.

Source:TH

 
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