India established as a Serious Global Space Power with Vikram-1 Success
The successful launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle, marks India’s emergence as a serious global player in the rapidly expanding global space economy and stands as a powerful vindication of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark decision to open the country’s space sector to private participation, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, said today.
Dr. Jitendra Singh witnessed the successful launch of Mission Aagaman at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, where Skyroot Aerospace successfully placed Vikram-1 into its designated Low Earth Orbit, becoming the first Indian private company to achieve an orbital launch from Indian soil. The mission marks a defining milestone in India’s space journey and demonstrates the growing strength of the country’s public-private partnership model, enabled by the collaborative efforts of the Department of Space, ISRO, IN-SPACe and India’s vibrant start-up ecosystem.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi congratulated the Skyroot Aerospace team on the historic achievement, describing it as a proud milestone for India’s expanding space ecosystem and a reflection of the country’s growing scientific capability, entrepreneurial spirit and innovation-driven development.
Congratulating Skyroot Aerospace founders Pawan Kumar Chandana and Bharath Daka, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that had Prime Minister Narendra Modi not taken the bold decision to open India’s space sector to private enterprise, the country would not have witnessed this historic achievement. He said the reforms have unlocked the immense potential of Indian innovators, providing them access to national space infrastructure and creating an ecosystem where world-class technologies can now be conceived, developed and launched entirely from India.
Built and developed entirely in India, Vikram-1 is the country’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle with the capability to place up to 350 kilograms into Low Earth Orbit. Standing approximately 22 metres tall, the launch vehicle incorporates several indigenous technological breakthroughs, including India’s first all-carbon composite orbital rocket, a 100 per cent 3D-printed liquid engine powering its Orbital Adjustment Module, advanced ultra-low-shock pneumatic separation systems and one of the country’s longest monolithic carbon-composite rocket stages. .(UPDATED ON 18TH JULY 2026)
