India's first privately built orbital rocket reached space Saturday, completing what the company called a successful test flight and marking a new chapter for the country's commercial space industry.
The Vikram-1 rocket, built by Skyroot Aerospace, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to loud cheers. The rocket is roughly as tall as a seven-story building and capable of carrying payloads up to 350 kilograms, or about 771 pounds, into low Earth orbit.
"Hello space, we have arrived!" Skyroot Aerospace said in a post on X. "Vikram-1's Test Flight-1 has completed its mission. The first-ever Indian private-sector launch has been successfully completed."
The payload the rocket carried was unusual. Along with robotic arms designed to remove space debris, the vehicle carried a lab-grown diamond. Also aboard was a miniature 18-karat gold rocket bearing tiny sculptures of Indian physicists Vikram Sarabhai and CV Raman, as well as former Indian president and aerospace engineer APJ Abdul Kalam.
Pawan Goenka, chairman of the government's Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, said the achievement went "way beyond expectation for the very first orbital launch ever taken by an Indian private company." Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it "a defining moment in India's space journey."
"The growing participation of our private sector is opening new frontiers and accelerating innovation," Modi said. "This achievement will encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly."
According to a report by Phys.org, India's space economy is currently valued at around $8.4 billion. The sector has expanded rapidly since the government opened it to private players in 2020, and the country now has more than 400 space startups. The Vikram-1 launch is the first orbital flight to come out of that wave of new companies.
Former ISRO chairman K. Sivan said the launch was the payoff from years of groundwork. "With Skyroot especially, the rocket is one of the most challenging and complex technologies in the space system ... It is going to motivate many people," he told AFP. Sivan added there is "no doubt" the launch will have global impact. "If an Indian startup can make one of the most challenging things in the space industry, then it gives a huge boost to India's reputation globally."
India has been building toward this kind of milestone for years. In August 2023, it became only the fourth country to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon, joining Russia, the United States and China. The Vikram-1 launch adds a commercial dimension to that record, showing that private companies in India can now compete in one of the most technically demanding fields in aerospace.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar reacted to the news with a direct statement: "India's space ambitions soar to new heights!"
