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Hyderabad’s Skyroot Aerospace plans to send Vikram-1, its first orbital rocket, into space in January 2026. The flight will take place from Sriharikota and will carry commercial satellites for Catalyx Space. If successful, it will mark India’s first privately built rocket to reach orbit, showing how fast the country’s space sector is changing after years of government dominance.
Vikram-1 stands at about 20 meters, roughly the height of a mid-sized apartment block. It uses four stages to climb through the atmosphere and enter space. The first three stages run on solid fuel stored inside composite shells. This gives the rocket strong lift at liftoff and reduces the number of moving parts. Skyroot says the first stage can deliver up to 1,000 kilonewtons of thrust.
The final stage uses liquid fuel. The pair of chemicals ignite as soon as they meet, so the engine can start and stop without a spark. This allows the rocket to adjust course once it reaches space. The complete vehicle can place about 480 kilograms into low Earth orbit, which suits clusters of small satellites and rideshare missions.
Skyroot was founded in 2018 by two former ISRO engineers, Pawan Kumar and Naga Bharath Daka. The company started with a small team and basic equipment, focusing first on a suborbital test rocket. That rocket, called Vikram-S, reached 89.5 kilometers in November 2022. It demonstrated carbon-fiber construction and helped the company test its engines and electronics under real conditions.
After that flight, engineers ran a series of ground tests. They pushed the engine casings to 82 atmospheres of pressure, verified fairing separation in a fraction of a second, and carried out repeated ignition checks. By mid-2025, most of the rocket’s parts were built across factories in India and then brought together for final assembly.
The company is targeting the fast-growing market for small satellites. Traditional Indian rockets like the PSLV can carry large payloads, but they are often booked months in advance. Vikram-1 aims to support quicker launches with smaller payloads, offering access to orbit at a lower cost. CubeSats used for weather tracking, internet networks, or astronomy are among the likely customers.
At about 500 kilometers above Earth, satellites circle the planet every hour and a half. Many commercial and research missions choose these orbits for stable lighting conditions and short communication delays. Vikram-1 can place nearly 300 kilograms into such a path, which is useful for space imaging and monitoring.
If the January mission works as expected, Skyroot plans to move ahead with Vikram-II. The second model will include a cryogenic upper stage that uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. That change should allow the rocket to carry about 900 kilograms. It could support missions that need higher altitudes or longer travel times, including trips around the Moon.
Private investment in Indian space companies has grown since 2020. Skyroot joins other startups, including Agnikul Cosmos, that are designing launch vehicles and engines. ISRO continues to run major missions, but private rockets like Vikram-1 may help reduce waiting times and open new business for smaller customers.
For Skyroot, the next few months will focus on final assembly, checks on the guidance systems, and rehearsals at the launch range. A successful flight would mark a new stage for commercial space in India and give the country another way to reach orbit without relying only on government rockets.
