Skyroot Vikram-1: India's First Private Orbital Rocket Heads to Sriharikota

📌 Summary:

• Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket has been transported to ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, ahead of its orbital launch
• Vikram-1 is India's first privately developed orbital-class launch vehicle, developed under IN-SPACe framework
• The rocket uses a three-stage solid propulsion system with a liquid-fuelled upper stage (Raman engine)
• Skyroot was the first Indian private company to launch a rocket to space — Vikram-S (sub-orbital) in November 2022
• Vikram-1 can carry up to 480 kg payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 290 kg to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
• The mission will carry commercial small satellites, demonstrating India's growing private space launch capability
• IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) has enabled private sector participation in space since 2020
• This launch aligns with India's goal to capture 10% of the global space economy by 2040 (currently ~2%)