'Mission Aagaman': Skyroot's Vikram-1 reaches orbit, marks new era for India's private space sector

Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 has successfully reached orbit, achieving a historic milestone as India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket. The "Mission Aagaman" test flight injected its payloads into a nearly 450-km orbit, positioning India as the third nation worldwide with private orbital launch capabilities.

The 24-meter carbon-composite rocket executed all planned flight stages flawlessly from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. This included successful stage separations and the firing of its Orbital Adjustment Module (OAM), which utilized a 3D-printed liquid engine for the final push into orbit. The OAM is designed for multiple starts and stops in space.

During the ascent, the solid first stage, Kalam-1200, propelled the rocket through the dense atmosphere before separating. Subsequently, the payload fairing detached, exposing the satellites to space. The second stage, Kalam-250, completed its burn and separated, followed by the ignition of Kalam-100, the smallest and highest-flying solid stage. The solid-propulsion phase concluded with the separation of Stage 3, allowing the Orbital Adjustment Module to finalize the mission.

The Vikram-1 rocket is engineered to deploy payloads up to 350 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Its maiden flight carried diverse payloads, including the "Diamond Lotus," a lab-grown diamond from Cosmos Diamonds, and a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi bearing the words "Vande Mataram." This postcard traveled alongside messages from the Skyroot team, investors, policymakers, and well-wishers, symbolizing a collective celebration carried into space.

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Vande Mataram.