Rohini (rocket family)


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

Nomenclature

The rockets in the series are designated with the letters RH, followed by a number corresponding to the diameter of the rocket.

Series

;RH-75
The RH-75, the first sounding rocket developed by India, was launched from TERLS on November 20, 1967. It weighed, had a diameter of and flew 15 times between November 1967 and September 1968.
;RH-125
This rocket was launched on October 9, 1971 from Sriharikota. It was a two-stage rocket using a solid propellant, carrying a payload to in altitude. It flew twice between January 1970 and October 1971.
;RH-200
The RH-200 has a maximum launch altitude of.
;RH-300
The Rh-300 is a single stage sounding rocket, derived from French Belier rocket engine technology. It has a launch altitude of 100 km.
A variant, the RH-300 Mk-II, has a maximum launch altitude of.
;RH-560
This two stage vehicle is derived from French Stromboli engine technology. Another variant, the RH-560 Mk-II, can reach a maximum launch altitude of.

Applications

The RH-200 is used for meteorological studies, the RH-300 Mk-II for upper-atmospheric studies and the RH-560 Mk-II for ionospheric studies. The RH-200 was used as the rocket for the first payload launch in India made by students of VIT University in Vellore.
Name RH 75 RH 125 RH 200/125 RH-300 RH-300 Mk II RH-300/200/200 RH-560/300 RH-560/300 Mk II
Gross mass 8 kg 40 kg 100 kg 300 kg 500 kg 500 kg 1,300 kg 1,600 kg
Height 1.50 m 2.50 m 3.60 m 4.10 m 5.90 m 8.00 m 8.40 m 9.10 m
Diameter 0.0800 m 0.12 m 0.20 m 0.31 m 0.31 m 0.31 m 0.56 m 0.56 m
Thrust 8.00 kN 17.00 kN 38.00 kN 39.00 kN 38.00 kN 76.00 kN 76.00 kN
Apogee
Stages 1 1 2 1 1 3 2 2
First Launch 20 November 1967 1 January 1970 1 January 1979 8 June 1987 1 November 1985 24 April 1974 16 August 1995
Payload 1 7 10 60 70 100