When Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace launches its Vikram-1 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 18, it will attempt something no Indian private company has achieved before — placing a rocket into orbit.
Named Mission Aagaman, the flight marks India's first attempt by a private company to conduct an orbital launch, a milestone that until now has remained the domain of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Skyroot received launch authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), clearing the way for what the company describes as "India's first private orbital launch."
While the launch itself is significant, Vikram-1 represents something larger. It is the biggest test yet of India's decision to open the space sector to private players and a glimpse into how startups could work alongside ISRO to meet the growing global demand for satellite launches.
For decades, India's space programme revolved almost entirely around ISRO. Private companies supplied components, manufactured hardware and partnered with the space agency, but rockets were designed, built and launched under government leadership.
That changed after the Centre announced space sector reforms in 2020, followed by the Indian Space Policy 2023, allowing private companies to undertake end-to-end space activities under the oversight of IN-SPACe.
"India's space journey has inspired the world for decades. Now, private innovation is accelerating that journey further than ever before. The Indian Space Policy 2023 enables and permits private entities to carry out end-to-end space activities through IN-SPACe," Skyroot officials said in a company video.
Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, described the reforms as a turning point.
"Space reforms announced by Government of India just a few years ago were a big game changer for the space sector in India. It gave wings to companies like Skyroot. For the first time, innovative and ambitious companies in the space sector in India could dream big," Goenka said.
He added that the government has set an ambitious goal of expanding India's space economy to $44 billion, with commercial launch services expected to play a key role.
"One of the very important parts of that ambitious goal is to be a global hub for launching small satellites, and that's where Vikram-1 will play a very important role," he said.
Skyroot is not attempting its first launch.
In November 2022, the Hyderabad startup successfully flew Vikram-S, India's first privately developed rocket, on a suborbital mission called Prarambh. The mission reached an altitude of 88.8 kilometres and remained in flight for just over five minutes before descending back to Earth as planned.
The success established Skyroot's technical capability, but Vikram-1 is an entirely different challenge.
Unlike a suborbital mission, an orbital launch must accelerate a payload fast enough to continuously circle the Earth instead of falling back. That requires every stage of the rocket to perform with near-perfect precision.
"Ten years ago, I'm sure none of us would have imagined a private company building a rocket, taking it to the launch pad and preparing for this historic moment," said Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Skyroot Aerospace. "Skyroot's Vikram-1 is ready to take off soon from Indian soil."
Standing nearly seven storeys tall, Vikram-1 has been designed as a dedicated launch vehicle for small satellites.
The four-stage rocket uses three solid propulsion stages and a liquid-fuelled upper stage called the Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM). Unlike the lower stages, the OAM can restart its engine after reaching space, allowing the rocket to deploy multiple satellites into different orbits during the same mission.
According to Skyroot, Vikram-1 can place satellites weighing up to 350 kilograms into Low Earth Orbit and incorporates lightweight carbon-composite structures, indigenous avionics, flight-control systems and 3D-printed rocket engines.
Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Naga Bharath Daka said the company had developed Vikram-S in just two years using technologies such as carbon composites and 3D-printed thrusters, laying the groundwork for Vikram-1.
The company says the rocket is aimed at one of the fastest-growing segments of the global space industry — launching small satellites.
"Just like our smartphones are getting smaller, even satellites are getting smaller, and 90% of satellites which are set to launch in the next decade are all small satellites. They need rockets like Vikram-1, and Vikram-1 is more like an Uber to go to space," Daka said.
Designing a rocket is only one part of the challenge. Before Vikram-1 could be transported to Sriharikota, every major component had to prove it could survive the extreme conditions of launch and spaceflight.
Skyroot says the rocket underwent an extensive qualification campaign in which individual components were first tested separately before being integrated into larger systems. Engineers evaluated how the vehicle would withstand high temperatures, mechanical stress and atmospheric pressure, conditions far more demanding than those encountered during routine laboratory testing.
"Before even we could think of the launch day came the unforgiving chapter. It's to prove that every part can survive the test. This is where the rocket earned the right to fly," said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace.
Naga Bharath Daka, the company's co-founder and COO, said qualification involved much more than a single demonstration.
"Qualification wasn't just one test, it was a campaign," he said. "All the components, even the smallest ones, go through full-fledged functional and environmental testing, and only once they're qualified we integrate them into the larger systems or the rocket stages."
Among the most significant milestones was the Kalam-1200 first-stage static fire test. The stage, which provides the thrust needed to lift the rocket off the launch pad, underwent subsystem testing before engineers conducted a full-duration firing at Sriharikota in August 2025. According to Skyroot, the motor burned for 110 seconds while meeting its design parameters, making it the largest monolithic rocket stage developed and tested in India.
The company also validated stage separation, payload fairing separation and the Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM), whose Raman-2 engine, reaction control system, cold-gas thrusters and avionics were subjected to rigorous qualification before final integration.
Although Vikram-1 is a private launch vehicle, its development has involved extensive support from ISRO.
Dr V. Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO, said the space agency's role has evolved following the 2020 reforms. While ISRO continues to focus on advanced research, scientific missions and the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, it also provides infrastructure and technical support to emerging private companies.
"In 2020, Government of India announced the space sector reform, enabling private companies and startup systems to carry out end-to-end space activities in our country. ISRO has to continue the advanced R&D activities and government missions, including the scientific and human space flight programme. Also, ISRO has to provide the facilities and handhold the startup companies to carry out end-to-end space activities," Narayanan said.
He noted that ISRO supported Skyroot through several stages of development, including propulsion casting, static testing, engine qualification and launch operations.
"The first-stage solid motor propellant casting was done in ISRO facilities. The successful static test was carried out with the support of ISRO. The second-stage and upper-stage engine tests were carried out in ISRO facilities. ISRO is also providing the launch pad, carrying out vehicle assembly and accomplishing the launch-based activities," he said.
Industry leaders say Vikram-1 is significant not only because it is a private rocket but because it reflects a broader shift in India's space ecosystem.
Former ISRO Chairman Dr S. Somanath said the opening of the space sector has created opportunities for startups to build launch vehicles and related technologies.
"With the opening of the space sector and the space sector reforms announced by Government of India, we are seeing a transformative change. Private space agencies, entrepreneurs and startups are coming into rocket building and space applications. This specific area is being pioneered by companies like Skyroot. They have taken a huge responsibility building rockets that can launch satellites into orbit," he said.
India's first astronaut Rakesh Sharma believes the participation of private companies is essential if the country wants to increase the frequency of launches.
"Indian Space Research Organisation cannot do everything under one roof, especially when the frequency of launches has to increase. The private sector gets invited. Somebody like Skyroot is making the foundation for the buildup of an ecosystem which will be required to sustain the frequency of launches," Sharma said.
He added that, over time, government agencies would likely concentrate on scientific exploration while logistics and commercial launch services increasingly shift to private industry.
"Pure science and exploration will perhaps be the job of the government, while the logistics and the support required for these missions can come from the private sector. Skyroot is going to be the pioneer. Vikram-1 will be setting that benchmark," Sharma said.
Mission Aagaman is also carrying multiple technology demonstration payloads.
The rocket will launch SOLARAS S3 from Grahaa Space, Embrace, an in-orbit robotic arm developed by Cosmoserve Space, a technology demonstration from German company DCUBED, and Skyroot's own SCOPE satellite.
In addition, Vikram-1 will carry two symbolic payloads — Cosmic Bloom, a floral artwork from Cosmos Diamonds, and a miniature 18-karat gold rocket created by artist Ajay Kumar Mattewada to honour Indian scientific pioneers Vikram Sarabhai, C.V. Raman and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
More than a launch
Whether Vikram-1 succeeds on its first attempt or not, the mission marks an important milestone in India's evolving space programme.
For Skyroot, it is the culmination of years of engineering, testing and qualification. For Hyderabad, it reinforces the city's growing reputation as a hub for space technology startups. And for India, it is a test of whether the country's policy reforms can translate into a competitive private launch industry capable of complementing ISRO.
If Mission Aagaman reaches orbit, it will demonstrate that an Indian startup can independently design, build and launch an orbital-class rocket. More importantly, it could validate a model in which government agencies, regulators and private companies work together to expand India's presence in the global space economy—a goal that policymakers and industry leaders believe will define the next phase of the country's space journey.