The small satellite launch vehicle Vikram-1, built in Bharat, partnership and private sector, achieved a great success by successfully entering orbit on its first attempt
Raja Pentapati- AP Bureau Chief
AMARAVATI July 18th ,Bharat Degital News
. NATIONAL
(Five-Star Rated News Service by Google)
The Indian government has announced space sector reforms in 2020, allowing private industry participation in the country’s space activities.
The new Indian space policy has accelerated the growth of space startups in the country, which are engaged in the development of launch vehicles, satellites and space applications. With today’s launch, Skyroot Aerospace has become the first private company to successfully launch into orbit from Indian soil, that too on its first attempt.
Vikram-1 carried multiple payloads, including two satellites, SCOPE and Grahaa, into low-Earth orbit. The remaining payloads in the upper stage are intended to conduct various experiments in orbit.
The small satellite launch vehicle Vikram-1, developed by Indian space startup Skyroot Aerospace, blasted off from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 12:05:30 PM on July 18, 2026.
This marks a significant milestone in India’s space programme. This is the first time a private Indian company has launched a rocket into orbit from Indian soil.
Skyroot Aerospace had previously launched a test rocket, Vikram-S, into sub-orbit from Sriharikota on November 18, 2022. Subsequently, Vikram-I was developed into a 4-stage rocket with 3 solid fuel stages and one liquid fuel stage, capable of launching small satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO).
ISRO & In-Space facilitated and supported the project by facilitating the launch. ISRO has provided access to the Solid Motor Casting and Static Test Facilities at SDSC, Sriharikota. The first stage solid motor was fabricated and tested at the facilities at SDSC. The second stage motor was also validated at the static test facility at SDSC.
The liquid fuel engine used in the Vikram-I upper stage (Raman-I) was also tested at the LPSC test facility. During pre-launch operations, full support was provided for vehicle stage fabrication, equipment handling, stage transport to the launch pad, trajectory analysis and vehicle docking on the First Launch Platform (FLP). The ISRO security team monitored the Skyroute team’s operations at SDSC on a 24×7 basis to ensure safe operations.
IN-SPACe, the country’s space regulatory and promotional body, has played a key role in establishing a smooth mechanism for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGEs) like Skyroot Aerospace to access ISRO facilities, obtain necessary technical advice, mission readiness reviews and launch clearances.
ISRO and IN-SPACe congratulate the Skyroot Aerospace team for the successful maiden launch of the Vikram-1 launcher.
This launch has paved the way for more such efforts and opened doors to global commercial opportunities.
Swacha Andhra Pradesh
