Skyroot’s Vikram-1 successfully launched, becoming India’s first private orbital rocket
Hyderabad-based space startup ‘Skyroot Aerospace’ made history on Saturday by successfully launching its first orbital launch vehicle, ‘Vikram-1’, into space. This marks a major milestone for India’s rapidly growing private space sector.
This mission, named ‘Mission Agaman’, was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Although originally scheduled for 11:30 AM, the launch took place at 12:06 PM due to certain technical reasons. Notably, with the test flight of Vikram-1, India has entered the global private orbital launch market.
It is worth noting that Vikram-1 is India’s first privately built orbital launch vehicle developed entirely by a private Indian company. This represents a significant step towards strengthening India’s commercial space capabilities.
In addition to payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed, and Skyroot’s own SCOPE payload, Vikram-1 carried an artwork titled ‘Cosmic Bloom’ by Cosmos Diamonds and a micro-art payload.
The successful launch of Vikram-1 marks the first attempt by an Indian private company to send a payload into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using a rocket developed entirely in-house. This follows Skyroot’s successful ‘Vikram-S’ sub-orbital mission in November 2022, which was India’s first private rocket to reach space.
What is Vikram-1?
Vikram-1 is a four-stage orbital rocket, standing approximately 20 meters tall with a diameter of 1.7 meters. Its first three stages operate on solid propulsion, while the fourth stage utilizes a liquid engine to achieve orbit and execute precise maneuvers. It is constructed entirely using a carbon-composite structure. Vikram-1 is equipped with 3D-printed engines and high-thrust solid-fuel boosters. It is designed to carry small satellites weighing up to 350 kg into Low Earth Orbit, and its maiden test flight aims to reach an orbit at an altitude of 450 km with a 60-degree inclination.
Objective of ‘Mission Agaman’
Mission Agaman is a technology demonstration test flight aimed at evaluating Vikram-1’s performance and onboard systems under actual flight conditions. Skyroot Aerospace will use the data gathered during this test flight to enhance future versions of Vikram-1.
