Indian space startup Skyroot Aerospace has achieved the first orbital launch of a rocket entirely carried out by a private company in the country's history. The company's Vikram-1 rocket was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota on July 18.
According to Reuters, the rocket took about 15 minutes to deliver a payload to an orbit of 450 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The mission, called "Aagaman", was declared a complete success by Skyroot Aerospace.
With this achievement, India became the third country after the United States and China to launch a private company's rocket into orbit. It is worth noting that although Skyroot tested the Vikram-S rocket in 2022, that flight was suborbital and the rocket did not reach orbit.
The 22-meter-tall, three-stage Vikram-1 is powered by solid fuel and can carry up to 350 kilograms of payload into low-Earth orbit. In its first mission, the rocket launched commercial satellites, scientific experiments and Skyroot's own test vehicle. The payloads include a miniature rocket made of 18-karat gold and a symbolic composition of lab-grown diamonds.
Founded in 2018, Skyroot Aerospace is India's first space startup to cross the $1 billion valuation mark. The company's investors include GIC and BlackRock.
