Skyroot Aerospace Successfully Launches Vikram-1, India's First Privately Developed Orbital Rocket
Skyroot Aerospace has successfully launched 'Vikram-1', India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket, into a 450 km Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission, titled 'Mission Aagaman' (meaning arrival), marks India as the third nation with private orbital launch capabilities, following the US and China.
The 4-stage, 7-storey-tall rocket, named after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme, has a payload capacity of up to 350 kg. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The mission successfully deployed technology demonstrators from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed, and the SCOPE satellite. It also carried symbolic payloads, including an 18-karat gold rocket, an artistic lab-grown diamond, and a handwritten postcard from PM Narendra Modi bearing the message 'Vande Mataram'.