Hyderabad: Exactly 46 years after India entered the exclusive league of space-faring nations with the successful launch of SLV-3, India’s first experimental satellite launch vehicle, by ISRO, a new chapter in the country’s launch history is all set to unfold from the same spaceport on Saturday.Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket, is set to lift off at 11.30 am from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre-Sriharikota Range.The mission, named Aagaman, will be watched closely not only because it is Skyroot’s maiden orbital test flight, but also because of the date it shares with one of India’s most defining space milestones.On July 18, 1980, ISRO successfully launched the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3, or SLV-3E2, from Sriharikota, placing the Rohini satellite RS-1 into orbit.The 22-metre, 17-tonne, all-solid, four-stage experimental vehicle could place 40 kg class payloads in low Earth orbit. Its success made India the sixth country with the capability to launch satellites on its own.Forty-six years later, Vikram-1, which is 22-metres tall just like SLV-3, stands integrated on ISRO’s launchpad as the first private Indian orbital rocket to reach that stage.“This is the first time a private rocket is standing on the ISRO launchpad,” said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace, underlining the importance of the moment as it marks a significant step for the company and for India’s private space sector.Vikram-1 is a seven-storey, multi-stage launch vehicle built using an all-carbon composite structure. It is powered by propulsion systems developed in-house, including high-thrust solid-fuel boosters and 3D-printed engines.Designed to carry satellites weighing up to 350 kg to low Earth orbit, the first test flight is targeting a 450 km orbit at an inclination of 60 degrees.The launch window had earlier been announced between July 12 and August 4, but the lift-off for the first test flight of Vikram-1 has finally been scheduled for Saturday.Authorities have issued airspace and maritime notices, creating restricted zones along the rocket’s ascent and impact corridor.The vehicle has been stacked on the pad, and final integrated checks from Skyroot’s launch control centre have been completed. Interface checks with telemetry ground stations and tracking radars have also been finished.“We have done everything that could be done to test Vikram-1 on ground. On July 18, we are eager to see how Vikram-1 performs in real flight environment for the first time,” Chandana said. “This is our first test flight, and we will be getting valuable data from it.”For Skyroot, the flight is less a commercial launch than a technology validation mission. The company wants to gather flight data on systems that have so far been tested only on the ground. The mission is expected to last about 16 minutes, but the information it returns could shape the next phase of the Vikram launch vehicle programme.“The first test objective is to get as much data as possible on the health of all the complex systems in actual flight conditions,” Chandana said. “Till now we have been testing on the ground. This is the first time we’re testing in flight.”Naga Bharath Daka, co-founder & COO, Skyroot Aerospace, said the launch represents the work of around 1,000 people and over 400 suppliers.“This test flight will show us how every technology we have developed over the years performs in real-world conditions. With the in-flight data gathered from this mission, we will return to the shop floor to learn, improve, and build further,” he said.Founded in 2018 by Chandana and Daka, both former ISRO scientists in their late 30’s, Skyroot developed Vikram-1 over nearly four years. Chandana said orbital rocket development globally often takes eight to 10 years, making the company’s timeline unusually fast.The Hyderabad-based firm, which became India’s first spacetech unicorn in May this year with a valuation of over $1.1 billion after a $60 million fundraise led by GIC and Sherpalo Ventures, had earlier made history on November 18, 2022, when the two-storey tall Vikram-S became the first privately built Indian rocket to successfully reach space on a suborbital flight.
