Skyroot’s Vikram-1 becomes India’s first privately built rocket to reach orbit
Key facts
- Skyroot Aerospace launched Vikram-1 on 18 July 2026 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
- The mission was named 'Aagaman'. The rocket placed its payloads in a 450 km low-Earth orbit.
- It carried Skyroot's own SCOPE satellite and customer payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve and DCubed.
- Vikram-1 is about 22 metres tall. It can carry up to 350 kg to low-Earth orbit.
- India became the third country, after the US and China, where a private company can reach orbit.
Why it matters
[Science] Skyroot, based in Hyderabad, was founded in 2018 by two former ISRO engineers. The 2020 space reforms opened rocket launches to private firms. Its suborbital Vikram-S flew in November 2022.
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