The Vikram 1 will be launched on Saturday. (Photo: R Satish Babu/AFP).
India achieved a milestone in its space program on Saturday when it launched its first privately developed orbital rocket.
Developed by aerospace company Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram 1 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota and is designed to place small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Skyroot announced the launch on X: “Hello space, we have arrived! The first launch by a private Indian company is a success.”
We’ll be watching this ignition on loop all day.
Kalam-1200 — Vikram-1’s first stage, named for Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam — roaring to life and lifting Vikram-1 off the pad, on a flight that reached orbit.#Vikram1 #MissionAagaman pic.twitter.com/ul9wlY8LzH
— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) July 18, 2026
Vikram 1, named after Vikram Sarabhai, known as the father of India’s space program, is about as tall as a seven-story building and can carry a load of 350 kg. The cargo on board includes a laboratory-grown diamond, robotic arms that can remove space debris and a miniature 18 carat gold rocket with figurines of Sarabhai, space scientist CV Raman and former president and aerospace engineer APJ Abdul Kalam.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, described the launch as “a significant moment in India’s space history”.
“The increasing participation of the private sector is opening new frontiers and accelerating innovation,” Modi added.
India’s space program has made significant progress in recent years thanks to investments from the Indian Space Research Organization. The industry was also opened to private enterprise in 2020.
Currently, this country’s space economy is calculated at around $8.4 billion (about R138 billion), which includes nearly 400 new space-related enterprises.
In August 2023, India became the fourth country after Russia, the USA and China to successfully land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon.