Vikram-1 will be launched on its maiden mission later this year with payloads to space. The rocket has been designed to deploy a 480 kg payload to a 500 km low inclination orbit.

While rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center are routine, relatively few are timed optimally to allow for viewing so far north.

However, in lieu of a mass simulator, Astrobotic wanted to see if it could find a more useful payload. So as the company's ...