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India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket Vikram-1 lifts off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Photo: Special Arrangement | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

India achieved a major milestone in its space journey on Saturday (July 18, 2026) as Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital rocket, successfully placed multiple technology demonstration payloads and postcards — including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi — into a low earth orbit.

Dubbed ‘Mission Aagaman’ (meaning arrival), the mission marks India’s entry into an elite group of nations with private orbital launch capability, making it only the third country in the world to achieve the feat through a privately developed launch vehicle. The mission was a “grand success,” the company said.

Skyroot’s Vikram-1, carrying technology demonstration payloads and postcards, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at the rescheduled time of 12:05 p.m. The launch was temporarily put on hold from its original time of 11:30 a.m.

The rocket was developed by Skyroot Aerospace. Five minutes before the earlier scheduled lift-off, Skyroot Aerospace announced that there is a ‘planned hold’.

Earlier in the day, around 10 minutes before the scheduled launch, the Vikram-1 began its automated launch sequence. From there, the onboard software runs the countdown, monitoring every system and clearing each checkpoint on its own, all the way to ignition. However, five minutes before liftoff, the launch was put on hold.

Later, the Automated Launch Sequence (ALS) was restarted, and the lift-off was re-scheduled at 12.05 p.m.

Developed by private space launch company Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram-1 is a seven-storey-tall, multi-stage orbital launch vehicle built with an all-carbon composite structure and powered by in-house developed propulsion systems, including 3D-printed engines and high-thrust solid-fuel rocket boosters.

Designed to carry small satellites weighing up to 350 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), its first test flight is targeting a 450-km orbit at a 60° inclination. Vikram-1 will carry six technology demonstration payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed and Skyroot’s own SCOPE, along with Cosmos Diamonds’ artwork “Cosmic Bloom”, and a micro-art piece.

Skyroot Aerospace said that the decks for the launch had been cleared with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) — the government agency to promote, permit, and oversee private-sector space activities — granting launch authorisation.

Skyroot said all stages of Vikram-1 have been successfully integrated and stacked on the launch pad. Following this, the final integrated checks of the vehicle on the launch pad from Skyroot’s launch control centre have been completed, along with the interface checks with all telemetry ground stations and tracking radars.

“We have done everything to test Vikram-1 on the ground. On July 18, we are eager to see how Vikram-1 performs in a real flight environment for the first time. This is our first test flight, and we will be getting valuable data from it. This will be foundational to Skyroot’s aspirations to establish launch cadence. We are excited to see this through,” said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace.

The primary objective of Vikram-1’s first test flight, named Mission Aagaman, is to achieve a successful lift-off, safe clearance of the tower, and gather maximum data throughout the ascent.

The Vikram-1’s flight sequence from lift off to orbit injection will cover 14 phases and the total duration of the flight will be 15.46 minutes.

Skyroot Aerospace said that Mission Aagaman, meaning ‘the arrival’, marks its second mission following the successful suborbital flight of Vikram-S, the first private rocket to reach space from Indian soil, on November 18, 2022.

The Hyderabad based company said that this will be a partially commercial flight, with the company planning to commence full commercial flights after one or two successful demonstrations to orbit.

Built with an all-carbon composite structure and powered by in-house developed solid and liquid propulsion systems, including 3D-printed engines, the Vikram-1 is engineered for rapid manufacturing and high launch cadence. The flight-ready rocket was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2025.

This launch of Vikram-1 comes 46 years after India launched its first experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3).

On July 18, 1980, India became the sixth member of an exclusive club of spacefaring nations when the SLV-3 was successfully launched from the same venue, placing the Rohini Satellite (RS-1) into orbit.

A handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also travel to space on Vikram-1, along with hundreds of cards from well-wishers across the world.

Following the successful launch of Vikram-1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with the team of Skyroot Aerospace. Speaking to Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, he said that the launch 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 encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly,” the Prime Minister said.

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