Skyroot Aerospace recently developed India’s first privately developed orbital rocket, Vikram-1, which is capable of placing 350 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Today, the space agency has officially announced that the Vikram-1 rocket launched under Mission Aagaman has reached space after a successful lift-off.
Hello space, we have arrived! Vikram-1's Test Flight-1 has completed it's mission.
The first ever Indian private sector launch has been successfully completed. #Vikram1 #MissionAagaman #OpeningSpaceForAll
— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) July 18, 2026
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has also congratulated Skyroot Aerospace on this historic achievement.
Spoke to the team of Skyroot Aerospace and congratulated them on the successful launch of Vikram-1.
This is a defining moment in India’s space journey. The growing participation of our private sector is opening new frontiers and accelerating innovation.
This achievement will… pic.twitter.com/epWjOY8yKa
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 18, 2026
Vikram-1 launched six payloads into a 450km LEO from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. These include Skyroot’s SCOPE satellite, DCUBED’s technology demonstration payload, Grahaa Space’s SOLARAS S3 satellite, and Cosmoserve Space’s Embrace. It also carried two symbolic payloads: Cosmic Bloom and an 18K gold micro-rocket (features microscopic sculptures of C. V. Raman, Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam)
This successful mission has made India the third country with a private orbital launch capability. This achievement showcases the growing strength of India’s private sector, advancing innovation and the potential of India’s space economy. Meanwhile, as the Prime Minister mentioned in his X post, this achievement will encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly.
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