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India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket Vikram-1 at the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket, is set to lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Saturday (July 18, 2026) at 11.30 a.m. The launch is expected to mark the entry of Indian private space technology companies into the global launch services market.

Developed by Hyderabad-based space launch company Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram-1 has secured all the necessary clearances for its maiden mission, named Mission Aagaman.

This will be the first attempt by a private company in India to launch an orbital-class rocket. The relevant authorities have issued the required airspace and maritime notices, designating restricted zones along the vehicle’s ascent and impact corridor for launch day.

Vikram-1 is designed to carry small satellites weighing up to 350 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Its inaugural flight will target a 450-km orbit with an inclination of 60 degrees.

The seven-storey-tall, multi-stage launch vehicle has been built using an all-carbon composite structure and is powered by in-house developed solid and liquid propulsion systems. These include 3D-printed engines and high-thrust solid rocket boosters. The vehicle has been designed for rapid manufacturing and a high launch cadence.

The flight sequence, from lift-off to orbital injection, comprises 14 phases and is expected to last 15.46 minutes.

Skyroot Aerospace said it had received launch authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the agency responsible for promoting, authorising and supervising private-sector space activities in India.

The company said all stages of Vikram-1 had been successfully integrated and stacked on the launch pad. Final integrated checks of the vehicle were completed from Skyroot’s launch control centre, along with interface checks involving telemetry ground stations and tracking radars.

Vikram-1 will carry technology demonstration payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed and Skyroot’s own SCOPE. It will also carry Cosmos Diamonds’ artwork Cosmic Bloom and a micro-art installation.

Developed by Cosmos Diamonds, Cosmic Bloom features a diamond jewellery creation mounted on an aluminium base plate. The micro-art installation, created by Ajay Kumar Mattewada, consists of an 18-carat gold rocket carrying microscopic sculptures of Sir C.V. Raman, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Each sculpture is smaller than a grain of rice and has been crafted inside the eye of a sewing needle.

The artwork pays tribute to the three visionaries whose contributions continue to inspire India’s scientific and space pursuits. The mission will also carry an international payload, uD3PP and mD3RN, developed by Germany-based DCubed GmbH.

Also on board will be the Embrace payload developed by Cosmoserve Space. During the mission, the robotic arm will remain attached to Vikram-1’s payload deck while carrying out its planned demonstration.

Mission Embrace aims to carry out what Cosmoserve describes as the world’s first demonstration of soft robotic capture in orbit. The company said the mission would represent a significant step towards technologies that support orbital sustainability and the removal of space debris, while highlighting the growing capabilities of India’s private space sector.

At the core of the project is a dual-spacecraft system featuring a robotic servicing spacecraft designed to capture and remove defunct satellites at a fraction of the cost of comparable solutions currently available. The soft robotic capture mechanism has been developed to latch on gently to unprepared and non-cooperative objects in orbit, the conditions typically encountered with defunct satellites.

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