Now Reading: Bengaluru start-up sends lab-grown diamond to space on Skyroot rocket
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Bengaluru start-up sends lab-grown diamond to space on Skyroot rocket
Bengaluru start-up sends lab-grown diamond to space on Skyroot rocket
Bengaluru-based Cosmos Diamonds has sent the world's first lab-grown diamond jewel into space aboard Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket. The lotus-shaped Cosmos Bloom Diamond, handcrafted in gold and set with 16.9 carats of…
The Story in Brief
Bengaluru-based Cosmos Diamonds has sent the world's first lab-grown diamond jewel into space aboard Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket. The lotus-shaped Cosmos Bloom Diamond, handcrafted in gold and set with 16.9 carats of lab-grown diamonds, underwent over 100 design sketches and 11 iterations over a year. The project reportedly began after a conversation between Skyroot co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana and Cosmos Diamonds founder Sanjana about the nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
The diamond was one of six payloads on Vikram-1, India's first privately built orbital launch vehicle. Other payloads include Skyroot's Earth observation satellite, a CubeSat to study solar activity, a payload to test space debris capture technologies, and technology demonstration payloads from Germany-based DCubed. An 18K gold micro-sculpture carrying microscopic portraits of Indian space pioneers was also aboard. The payload received approvals from both Skyroot and IN-SPACe.
The Indian Opinion
This story risks being inflated into another 'India shining' narrative, but the real test is commercial viability. Sending a novelty jewel as a paid payload on a maiden flight is clever marketing, not a scientific breakthrough. The question that settles it: will Cosmos Diamonds or Skyroot disclose the contract value and whether this covers launch costs? Until then, treat the nursery-rhyme origin story as a PR hook, not a policy milestone.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
