I set up the model by the foyer of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, a place nobody visiting the centre, including the chairman, could avoid. I got a platform built around the upper part of the engine, and a stair case leading up to it, so that one can touch, feel and see the parts of the gas generator, the turbo pump and the feed lines. At the foot of engine sat a board that read: ‘I am Vikas engine. I have a thrust of sixty tonnes and my specific impulse is 295 seconds. By the way, I am an orphan.’
