India's first commercial rocket reaches orbit as Skyroot's Vikram-1 nails debut launch
Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket successfully lifted off on its inaugural flight July 18, becoming the first commercial Indian rocket to reach orbit.
Vikram-1 lifted off at 2:35 a.m. Eastern (14:35 Beijing time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India's main spaceport. The liftoff was delayed by 35 minutes after a technical issue was found at the T-minus 5-minute mark in the countdown.
The rocket's three solid-fuel stages performed as expected after liftoff. A liquid-propellant kick stage, the orbit adjustment module, fired for about six minutes to deliver the payload to a 450-kilometer low Earth orbit. The entire ascent took 15 minutes.
Named Mission Aagaman (Sanskrit for "arrival"), the flight carried two cubesats — one built by Skyroot and another by fellow Indian startup Grahaa Space — along with hosted payloads from Dcubed and Cosmoserve Space. The rocket also carried miscellaneous items including postcards signed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"This is a historic moment not just for Skyroot but also for India and the entire global space sector," said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot, speaking from the launch site after the rocket reached orbit. "In the first attempt reaching orbit, I never thought it was possible, but the Skyroot team made it possible."
Vikram-1 is designed to deliver up to 350 kilograms to low Earth orbit. An upgraded version, Vikram-1U, will add strap-on boosters to increase payload capacity to 550 kilograms. Skyroot plans up to two more Vikram-1 launches this year, according to Ashwin Mahavadi, the company's senior vice president for business and strategy.
The company raised $60 million in May to scale up Vikram-1 production and develop a larger vehicle, the Vikram-2.
The successful launch marks a milestone for India's efforts to develop a commercial space industry, following a series of government reforms including opening access to the launch site used by Vikram-1. Chandana praised ISRO and IN-SPACe, the agency responsible for authorizing commercial space activities, for their support.
"India is proud to be the fastest-growing space tech ecosystem in the world, and now we achieved one of the biggest milestones ever in India's space sector: the first private orbital rocket reaching orbit on the very first attempt," Chandana said. "It still feels like a dream."
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Original article: https://spacenews.com/skyroot-aerospace-reaches-orbit-on-first-vikram-1-launch/