496 rocket kits’ launched at one go

Hyderabad: As many as 496 rocket kits — which are prototypes of Gaganyan, India’s proposed manned mission to space — assembled and launched by students from Goa schools created a Guinness World Record for ‘Most People Sending Rocket Kits Simultaneously in Single Venue. Part of the science popularisation exercise among students under the aegis of […]

Hyderabad: As many as 496 rocket kits — which are prototypes of Gaganyan, India’s proposed manned mission to space — assembled and launched by students from Goa schools created a Guinness World Record for ‘Most People Sending Rocket Kits Simultaneously in Single Venue.

Part of the science popularisation exercise among students under the aegis of India International Science Festival (IIFS) 2021, the event was sponsored by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

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Soon after the inauguration of IIFS, a total of 550 students sat in neat rows maintaining social distancing and embarked on assembling the kits. After the two-hour assembling session, the students took their respective rockets to the Gymkhana ground nearby, from where these rockets were launched via eight launch pads.

Amid cheering students, the rockets were launched in batches, culminating in the evening when Guinness World Records (GWR) adjudicator Swapnil Angrekar announced that 496 attempts were successful which qualified for the record.

Earlier, explaining the process of how students were trained, Mayuri Dutt, national coordinator, Guinness World Record (GWR), said, “These are all Class XI students from various Goa schools, many of them from rural areas. They were trained for two-hour sessions for four days over two weeks.”

ISRO’s Director (Capacity Building) of Programme Office, M. Sudheer Kumar, said, “The model represents a GSLV variant called HRLV, i.e., Human Rated Launch Vehicle, that is going to be used in Gaganyan.”

India had originally planned Gaganyaan in the 75th year of India’s Independence. But the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns delayed that plan. Nevertheless, the authorities decided to get this record attempt for record.

All these events are being held as part of the IIFS 2021, a joint programme of the Ministry of Science & Technology and the Ministry of Earth Sciences along with Vijnana Bharati, an NGO working for propagation of science.