To study changes in sky during eclipse

A Rohini (RH) 200 sounding rocket shot off from Thumba at 9.30 a.m., when the partial solar eclipse — as viewed from Thiruvananthapuram — was at its maximum.

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) used the sounding rocket mission to study changes in the earth’s upper atmosphere during the eclipse. VSSC has scheduled a second RH 200 flight at exactly the same time on Friday also.

Sounding rockets have been lifting off from Thumba since the 1960s as part of the efforts to keep tabs on the upper atmospheric regions using rocket-borne instrumentation.

Danger zone

The district administration had declared the near-shore waters extending nine kilometres (five nautical miles) off the Thiruvananthapuram coast from Valiyathura to Pallithura as a potential danger zone during the launch on both days.