Rohini RH-300 Mk-II launch
Rohini RH-300 Mk-II was a sounding rocket.
Sounding rockets are one or two stage solid propellant rockets used for probing the upper atmospheric regions and for space research.
Sounding rockets take their name from the nautical term "to sound," which means to take measurements.
They also serve as easily affordable platforms to test or prove prototypes of new components or subsystems intended for use in launch vehicles and satellites.
On November 20, 1997, it was rose to the skies from Svalbard, Norway, operationalizing a new rocket launching range there.
The RH-300 Mk-II was given a new name by the NSC (Norwegian Space Centre): Isbjorn-1, which translates literally as ‘Polar Bear-I.’
The Rohini rockets had till then flown only in the tropical hot and humid conditions in India.
The Svalbard archipelago, on the other hand, sits in the Arctic Ocean and temperatures were on the extremely low side.
The rocket, unfortunately, did not achieve the predicted height, rising only up to 71 km.
The reason was a strange one.
To keep the ambient temperature at 18 degrees celsius, it was kept covered with a velostat shroud.
The idea was that it would pierce through the cover during launch. Instead, the rocket dragged it along, and the increased drag resulted in a lower altitude.
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