The historic milestone for the spacecraft sector, the launch of Vikram-1, India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket, to demonstrate the launch vehicle's technology, was successfully launched at 12.05 pm on July 18 in Sriharikota and successfully reached orbit.
Launching of the Vikram-1
Skyroot Aerospace, which recently became India's first space tech unicorn after reaching a $1.1 bn valuation, launched Vikram-1 from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) launch facility in Sriharikota in southern India.
The rocket is named after the father of the Indian space program, Dr Vikram Sarabhai. This seven-story-tall rocket is a massive leap in aerospace engineering. It is built with an all-carbon-composite structure, which makes it extremely lightweight, and features 3D-printed engines.
"With Vikram-1, we take our biggest step yet toward a reliable, high-cadence launch programme built in India, for India and the world. This mission is designed as both a technology demonstration and a learning mission," said Naga Bharath Daka, COO and co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace, in a press release shared earlier.
Halt of the Rocket
The seven-storey rocket is scheduled to lift off at 11:30 Indian time [06:00 GMT], but Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 and Mission Aagaman have been put on a "planned hold" just minutes before the scheduled liftoff. The officials paused the launch just five minutes before the designated liftoff time of 11:30 am.
The launch of India's future space mission is halted at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota due to an anomaly detected in the onboard computer during the automatic launch sequence. The launch was delayed by about 35 minutes after the countdown was briefly paused due to a navigation-related issue. The rocket finally lifted off at 12:05 pm.
Launched details of Vikram-1
Skyroot's privately developed India-class rocket, Vikram-1, successfully lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 12.05 pm, marking a major milestone for the country's private space industry. The launch, India's mission Aagaman, was carried out by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace.
Instead of a standard satellite, Mission Aagaman is carrying symbolic and experimental cargo. It carries the EMBRACE Payload: A robotic arm technology designed for future space debris removal and Cosmic Bloom: An artistic payload featuring a lab-grown diamond.
Along with several technology demonstration payloads, the rocket is carrying a postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi into space that says "Vande Mataram". The vehicle will also carry hundreds of cards with wishes and aspirations from people around the world.
In a post on X, PM said that Vikram-1, developed by Skyroot Aerospace, is India's first privately built orbital launch vehicle and is designed to provide rapid, on-demand launch services.
The Aiming Function of the Rocket
The launch will head for the Low Earth Orbit, which is 280 miles (450km) away. If the 16-minute flight succeeds, Skyroot will become the first Indian private company to launch a rocket into orbit, making India only the third country, after the US and China, with a private company capable of orbital launches.
A successful Vikram-1 launch will take Skyroot closer to its goal of offering what it calls a "cab service to space", where companies can hire a rocket "to ride to a unique location in orbit to place a satellite or visit a space station".
Unlike Skyroot's earlier suborbital Vikram-S rocket (which briefly crossed the edge of space in 2022 and fell back to Earth), Vikram-1 is built to accelerate payloads to high enough speeds to remain in orbit.
While Indian companies have historically supplied parts to the government, this is the very first time an Indian private startup has independently designed, assembled, and attempted to launch an orbital rocket.
The primary objective of this mission is to collect critical in-flight data. Since ground testing cannot perfectly simulate conditions in space, this test flight helps Skyroot gather data on the rocket's propulsion, staging, and navigation to prepare for fully commercial flights.
