Skyroot Aerospace Launches India's First Private Orbital Rocket Vikram-1 Under Mission Aagaman
Skyroot Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based private space start-up, successfully launched India's first privately built orbital-class rocket, Vikram-1, on 18 July 2026 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh). The maiden flight was named Mission Aagaman (Sanskrit for 'Arrival'). With this launch India became only the third country — after the United States and China — to achieve private orbital launch capability, a milestone enabled by the Indian Space Policy 2023. Mission details: The four-stage, seven-storey-tall Vikram-1 injected all payloads into a 450 km Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an inclination of 60 degrees, about 15 minutes after lift-off. The vehicle can carry roughly 350 kg to LEO. Payloads: Skyroot's in-house SCOPE payload; Grahaa Space's SOLARAS S3 technology-demonstration satellite; Cosmoserve Space's 'Embrace' robotic arm for future space-debris removal; and Germany's DCUBED technology-demonstration payloads (uD3PP and mD3RN). The flight also carried symbolic cargo — Cosmic Bloom, a lotus artwork made of lab-grown diamonds; an 18-karat gold micro-rocket containing microscopic sculptures of Sir C.V. Raman, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; and a handwritten postcard from PM Narendra Modi bearing the message 'Vande Mataram'.
Skyroot Aerospace founded: 2018, HQ Hyderabad, Telangana | Rocket named after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space programme | Skyroot's Vikram-S (Nov 2022, Mission Prarambh) was India's first privately built sub-orbital rocket | Regulator for private space activity: IN-SPACe, set up 2020, HQ Ahmedabad | ISRO founded 1969, HQ Bengaluru
Skyroot Aerospace launched Vikram-1, India's first private orbital rocket, on 18 July 2026 from Sriharikota under Mission Aagaman, placing payloads in a 450 km Low Earth Orbit. • India became the third country after the USA and China to achieve private orbital launch capability. • The four-stage Vikram-1 carried Skyroot's SCOPE, Grahaa Space's SOLARAS S3, Cosmoserve's Embrace debris-removal arm and Germany's DCUBED payloads.