India becomes world's third nation to achieve private orbital rocket launch

India has become the world's third country to successfully place a satellite into orbit using a privately developed rocket, after Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 completed its maiden orbital mission on Saturday (July 18).

The 'Mission Agaman' launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota of Andhra Pradesh. The rocket successfully deployed its payload into a 450-kilometre low-Earth orbit about 15 minutes after liftoff, despite a brief countdown delay caused by a technical issue.

Skyroot Aerospace described the mission as a technology demonstration flight, saying additional test launches will be conducted before commercial operations begin.

The 22-metre-tall Vikram-1 is capable of carrying payloads of up to 350 kilograms to low-Earth orbit. The rocket features three solid-fuel stages and a liquid-fuel orbital adjustment module, equipped with India's first 3D-printed rocket engine.

The mission carried technology demonstration satellites and experimental payloads from Indian and international organisations.

Founded in 2018, Skyroot Aerospace emerged as India's first private space company to conduct a successful suborbital launch with Vikram-S in 2022. The latest milestone follows India's decision in 2020 to open its space sector to private participation, ending the monopoly of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in launch activities.

The Indian government aims to expand the country's space economy from around $8 billion to $44 billion by 2033, with private companies expected to play a central role in achieving that target.