On 18 July 2026,
Skyroot
Aerospace made history, becoming the first private company to fly an Indian built
rocket to orbit on its maiden attempt. Mission
Aagaman, meaning ‘arrival’, lifted off from the First Launch Pad at the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, and Vikram-1 flew a nominal profile to
reach its target Low Earth Orbit of approximately 450 km at a 60 degree
inclination, where it successfully deployed its payloads. In doing so, Skyroot
joins the exclusive group of companies able to reach orbit.
In a moment the team called the honour of a
lifetime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally called to congratulate the
Skyroot team on Vikram-1's success. He
has also sent a handwritten postcard inscribed with "Vande Mataram,"
on the Vikram 1 to space. “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Team
Skyroot on the successful accomplishment of the Vikram-1 mission. This
achievement is the outcome of years of innovation, perseverance and engineering
excellence, and reflects the growing maturity of India's private space sector.
It is encouraging to see Indian industry translating technological capability
into launch capability, complementing our national space programme. ISRO and
IN-SPACe remains committed to working closely with industry partners to build a
vibrant, globally competitive space ecosystem that advances India's space
ambitions”, stated the Prime Minister.
Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace stated, “During the flight, Vikram-1 completed every
principal mission milestone, validating the performance of its propulsion,
avionics, and guidance, navigation and control systems under true operational
conditions. The vehicle deployed its customer payloads and generated a wealth
of in-flight data that will directly inform future Vikram missions and the
continued evolution of Skyroot's launch programme. Mission Aagaman is the culmination of years of engineering, rigorous
testing and an unwavering commitment to solving some of the hardest problems in
Space. Every milestone today reflects the dedication of hundreds of engineers,
technicians and mission specialists who believed in pushing the boundaries of
what was possible. We are deeply grateful to ISRO, to IN-SPACe, and to every
customer, investor and partner who stood by us. Even as we celebrate, we are
already applying today's learnings to the next chapter of the Vikram series and
to building a world class launch capability from India, for the world."
On
this flight, Vikram-1 carried technology demonstration payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve and DCubed,
alongside Skyroot's own SCOPE
satellite, together with Cosmos Diamonds' artwork ‘Cosmic Bloom’ and a
micro-art piece — a small, human reminder of what access to space can carry. The
success of Vikram-1 establishes the foundation for Skyroot's commercial launch
programme and reinforces India's emergence as a major force in the global space
economy. The company's roadmap includes Vikram-2, capable of carrying up to
1,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit, with its maiden flight targeted for 2027, and a
fully reusable launch vehicle, with both booster and upper stage engineered for
recovery and reuse, designed to lower the cost of reaching orbit still further.
Skyroot
Aerospace is a private space launch company, building the Vikram-series of
launch vehicles to provide on-demand and dedicated access to space for small
satellite operators worldwide. Founded by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, the company aims to democratise
space access by designing, developing and launching a family of launch
vehicles. Skyroot made history in 2022 with the launch of Vikram-S, India's
first privately built rocket to reach space. In July 2026, the company
successfully flew the maiden flight of Vikram-1, its orbital launch vehicle,
marking India's first private orbital launch.
Vikram-1
is designed to deploy small satellites of up to 350 kg to low Earth orbit.
Built with an all carbon composite structure and powered by in-house developed
solid and liquid propulsion systems, including 3D-printed engines, the rocket
is engineered for rapid manufacturing and high launch cadence. Skyroot's
technology stack spans carbon composite rocket structure, and solid (Kalam
series), liquid (Raman series), and cryogenic (Dhawan series) propulsion
systems, all developed in-house at its Max-Q (55,000 sq. ft.), Infinity
(200,000 sq. ft.) campuses. Skyroot recently opened a campus in Aero Towers
(10,000 sq. ft.) in Hyderabad, Telangana.