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.
After liftoff, Vikram-1 flew a nominal profile to reach its target in low earth orbit of approximately 450 km at a 60-degree inclination, where it successfully deployed its payloads.
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.
During the flight, Vikram-1 deployed six technology demonstration payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed and Skyroot, along with Cosmos Diamonds’ artwork ‘Cosmic Bloom’, and a micro-art piece.
“Only a handful of nations can reach space on their own, and today a private Indian company joined that exclusive club. What lifted off today is the culmination of years of work, a team of over a thousand people, and efforts of close to 400 suppliers with it. Congratulations to team Skyroot. You have given us an India moment,” said Pawan Goenka, chairman, IN-SPACe.
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.
Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, said that during the flight, Vikram-1 completed every principal mission milestone, validating the performance of its propulsion, avionics, and guidance, navigation and control systems under true operational conditions.
“The vehicle deployed its customer payloads and generated a wealth of in-flight data that will directly inform future Vikram missions and the continued evolution of Skyroot’s launch programme,” he said.
He added that the average age of the Skyroot team is 28 years and there are also team members who are fresh out of college across the country.
“We have a team of freshers, experienced persons and a diversified workforce,” he added.
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.
Published - July 18, 2026 11:48 am IST