RH200 rocket registered its 200th consecutive successful launch

RH200, the versatile sounding rocket of Isro, has registered its 200th consecutive successful launch from the shores of Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram.

Key points

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 23 termed it a “historic moment”.

• It was on 21st November 1963 that the first Sounding Rocket was launched from Indian soil.

• Indian sounding rockets are used as privileged tools for the scientific community for carrying out experiments on meteorology, astronomy and similar branches of Space Physics.

• Campaigns such as Equatorial ElectroJet (EEJ), Leonid Meteor Shower (LMS), Indian Middle Atmosphere Programme (IMAP), Monsoon Experiment (MONEX), Middle Atmosphere Dynamics (MIDAS), Sooryagrahan-2010, etc. have been conducted using the sounding rocket platform for scientific exploration of the Earth’s atmosphere.

• The RSR series of rockets have been the forerunners for ISROs heavier and more complex launch vehicles, with a continued usage even today for atmospheric and meteorological studies.