Skyroot’s Vikram-1: India’s First ‘Space Taxi’
Mission Aagaman Propels India into a New Era of Private Orbital Launches
Synopsis
India's private space sector reached a defining milestone as Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 successfully placed payloads into Low Earth Orbit under Mission ‘Aagaman’. Skyroot Aerospace is founded by former ISRO scientists. Skyroot Aerospace is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
AdvertisementHow Skyroot's Vikram-1 Made History
India has achieved a major milestone in its space journey on Saturday July 18, 2026 as Skyroot’s Vikram-1 has made India the third country after the United States and China where a private company has independently placed payloads in orbit. The Mission is named “Aagaman” the Sanskrit word for “arrival” symbolizing India’s independent arrival into Low Earth orbit. Successfully placed multiple technology demonstration payloads and postcards. From the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, India.
The Launch
The Vikram–1 rocket was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 0635 GMT (12:05 PM IST), carrying customer payloads and in-orbit experiments on its orbital mission. The launch was initially scheduled for 11:30 AM but was placed on a brief "planned hold" before mission control gave the go-ahead.
AdvertisementReaching Orbit
About 15 minutes after lift-off, Vikram-1 successfully injected its payload into a 450 km orbit, achieving a milestone for private Indian spaceflight. The rocket performed as planned, sticking to a nominal trajectory and deploying the payloads right on schedule, with mission control declaring "grand success" just 17 minutes after lift-off.
What made Vikram-1 special?
Mission is named after the Father of India's space programme, Vikram Sarabhai who was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India. Vikram-1 is an indigenously designed and developed rocket built to carry 350 kg of satellite payloads to space. A seven storey tall, multi-stage orbital launch vehicle built with an all carbon composite structure and powered by in house developed propulsion systems including 3D-printed engines and high thrust solid fuel boosters. It is developed by Skyroot Aerospace.
According to The Founders
It is like a ‘cab to space’, one satellite companies and institutions can use to send their payloads to specific, unique orbits. With 3-D printed engines and a carbon-fibre composite outer structure which is meant for rapid production and manufacturing said the company’s press release. The Vikram-1 vehicle represents the next step for Skyroot after the company's successful Vikram-S suborbital mission in November 2022.
What is Vikram-S?
Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-S, India's First Private Rocket launched on November 18, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota. The mission, named "Prarambh" (meaning "The Beginning"), marked the first launch after the Indian space sector was opened to private players in 2020. The single-stage, suborbital launch vehicle reached an altitude of approximately 89.5 kilometres before safely completing its planned flight profile. The entire mission lasted about five minutes, successfully validating the rocket's avionics, propulsion system, guidance, navigation, control systems, telemetry, and structural design.
AdvertisementWhat is Skyroot Aerospace?
Skyroot Aerospace is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana. The company was established in 2018, Hyderabad and is currently valued at $1.2 billion, making it India’s first space tech unicorn.
Founders
Skyroot Aerospace is founded by Former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana a child who was once bad at maths is now the head of this ambitious space company along with Naga Bharath Daka former ISRO scientists. Pawan Kumar Chandana also stated only 5% of skyroot’s workforce has prior experience at ISRO or DRDO, while the rest were trained from scratch. Skyroot recruits fresh engineering graduates and professionals from a wide range of industries which includes Aviation, Automobiles and Trains them in the high-precision engineering and technical skills required to build rockets. He described developing this talent pool as one of its biggest achievements
PM Modi Applauds Skyroot Team
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating the Skyroot team on the historic feat, the Prime Minister told the young team, "you have made India proud, "You have planted India's aspirations in space and have also given roots to the dreams of the youth," Commending the young team, The PM said they had shown what India's youth are capable of. "Your team has proved my faith in the youth of India right. Many doubted our space dreams, but this team has shown that if trusted, Indian youth can do wonders," the PM told the beaming team.
