Skyroot Aerospace launches India’s first private orbital rocket Vikram-1

• Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace launched India’s first private orbital-class rocket Vikram-1 from Sriharikota on July 18.

• Named ‘Mission Aagaman’, the test flight’s launch marks a historic milestone for the country’s commercial space sector.

• Vikram-1 is capable of placing 350 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). 

• Orbital launch vehicles deploy satellites into stable Earth orbits, supporting communication, navigation, Earth observation and scientific research.

• About 22 metres tall, four-stage Vikram-1 rocket lifted off the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

• The rocket successfully placed multiple technology demonstration payloads and postcards, including a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi bearing the message ‘Vande Mataram’ into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 450 km with an inclination of 60 degrees.

• Vikram-1, named after the legendary Vikram Sarabhai who is often regarded as the “father of India’s space programme”, is built with an all-carbon composite structure and powered by in-house developed propulsion systems, including 3D-printed engines and high-thrust solid-fuel rocket boosters.

• The rocket’s payload includes Grahaa Space’s SOLARAS S3 satellite, Cosmoserve Space’s Embrace — a robotic arm designed to capture orbital debris, DCUBED’s technology demonstration payload, and Skyroot’s own SCOPE satellite. 

• It also carries two symbolic payloads — ‘Cosmic Bloom’, a floral-shaped artwork, and an 18-karat gold micro-rocket. The micro-rocket features microscopic sculptures of C.V. Raman, Vikram Sarabhai and A.P.J Abdul Kalam, each smaller than a grain of rice, paying tribute to India’s pioneering scientists.