A trailer truck carrying the flight hardware of Indian leading space startup Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 — India’s first privately developed orbital rocket in Hyderabad — was flagged off by Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday, marking the rocket’s formal departure to the launch site at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. Skyroot is set to make an orbital launch attempt in the coming months, an official release said. The launch, expected in June, will be conducted under the authorisation of space regulator IN-SPACe and with the technical oversight of Isro.Skyroot made history in 2022 with the launch of Vikram-S, India’s first privately built rocket to reach space. The company is now preparing for the maiden flight of Vikram-1, its orbital launch vehicle, which will mark India’s first private attempt at an orbital mission.Congratulating the Skyroot team, the CM said, “The company launched its first rocket in 2022, and reaching the stage of orbital launch in such a short time is a remarkable achievement.” Reddy said the occasion marks a key milestone in Telangana’s pursuit of becoming a global leader in the aerospace sector.The rocket’s space-ready payload fairing, which protects satellites inside the rocket during flight, was flagged off from the company’s facility in Hyderabad.Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace said, “We are honoured to have Hon’ble chief minister of Telangana Shri A Revanth Reddy flag-off our Vikram-1 rocket to the spaceport. The launch of this orbital rocket will mark a major milestone for India’s emerging private space-tech industry. With Vikram-1, we aim to open up space by enabling on-demand satellite launches for a fast-growing global market.”With the Vikram-1 launch, Skyroot is set to make India’s first private orbital launch attempt, marking its entry into a market currently dominated by a handful of companies globally.Emphasising how this will change the space ecosystem, Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder and COO, Skyroot, said, “We completed the most critical testing of Vikram-1 and excited to begin integration and launch campaign activities next week at the spaceport towards this historic launch. Today, we have taken a step towards removing this barrier and moving closer to orbit.”Vikram-1 is a multistage orbital launch vehicle designed to deploy small satellites of up to 350 kg to low Earth orbit. Standing 7-storeys tall, it is 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. The upcoming flight is the first of several planned Vikram-1 missions, which enables Skyroot to progressively advance toward regular commercial launch operations for satellite operators worldwide.
