Three years ago, if you went up to a person who was interested in space and told them that a private space company would soon launch a rocket from an ISRO facility, they probably would smirk in disbelief, but it’s a reality.

Marking a milestone in the Indian Space industry, India launched its first ever privately made rocket to space, Vikram - S. Being developed by four-year-old startup Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram - S begins the foray of private sector into the country's space industry. Vikram-S suborbital vehicle took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota under the guidance of ISRO.

The rocket is named after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the country’s space programme. It has been developed in a span of two years by a 200-engineer team. The Vikram-S rocket is a 6-meter gall powered by solid-fuelled propulsion, advanced avionics, and a carbon-fiber core structure. The rocket is one of the world's first few all-composite rockets that has 3-D printed solid thrusters for spin stability of the launch vehicle, according to news agency PTI. With a body mass of 545 kgs, length of 6m, and diameter of 0.375 meters, Vikram-S is one of the most affordable rockets in its category, globally.

Vikram-S launch is aimed at testing and validating the system, designs, and technology of orbital-class launch vehicles, including several sub-systems and technologies that will be tested across the pre-lift off and post-lift off phases of the launch, according to Skyroot Aerospace. It is equipped with a gross lift-off mass of 545kg, and a payload mass of 80kg. The rocket reached a peak altitude of 89.5km—higher than the targeted altitude of 80km—before splashing back into the Bay of Bengal in a six-minute mission.

The mission has been titled 'Prarambh' (the beginning). Under the mission, the rocket carried three payloads built by Andhra Pradesh-based N Space Tech India, Chennai-based startup Space Kids and Armenian BazoomQ Space Research Lab, Skyroot Aerospace.

"We made history today by launching India's first private rocket. It is a symbol of new India, and just the Prarambh (beginning) of a great future and will give global investors and clients confidence in India’s space sector." Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder Skyroot Aerospace, said. He also added that even as the private sector develops, Isro and government-backed space entities will continue to play an important role. In the long run, Chandana expects a public-private partnership model to be in place for the space sector, which could see ISRO license specific missions for homegrown space firms to conduct.

Explaining that satellite launches will play a crucial role in the future, Bharath Daka, the other co-founder added, "The maiden launch has proved our technology. Value creation is key in this space. We will be able to prove our capability to our investors".

The launch has opened up pathways to an absolutely exciting future and it would be interesting to know how it shapes the space industry, especially in a scenario when the Indian government has been pushing to develop a private space industry to complement its state-run space programme known for its affordable launches and missions. 

References

- https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/vikram-s-indias-first-private-rocket-lifts-off-from-isro-spaceport/article66152534.ece

- https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-first-privately-built-rocket-vikram-s-carrying-three-payloads-lifts-off-from-sriharikota-3531739

- https://www.livemint.com/science/news/skyroot-plans-two-monthly-rocket-launches-from-2025-11668970053723.html