Launch of India's first private rocket, Vikram-S, launched as part of the Prarambh mission

The country's first privately developed rocket 'Vikram-S' was launched today at exactly 11.30 am from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) center in Sriharikota. Preparations had already been made for the first launch of the Vikram-S rocket by four-year-old start-up Skyroot Aerospace. This is the entry of the private sector in the country's space industry.

"Launched! Vikram-S creates history as India's first private rocket to grace the skies. Join us on this momentous occasion," Skyroot Aerospace, the startup that developed Vikram-S rocket, announced in a tweet. We thank you all for staying."

The state-owned ISRO has dominated this field for decades. Skyroot Aerospace has become the first private sector company in India to step into the Indian space program after the central government opened up the space industry to the private sector in 2020. Earlier it was planned to be launched on 15 November. Vikram-S will reach an altitude of 81 kilometers after launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. The rocket is named after the father of the Indian space program and the late scientist Vikram Sarabhai. The mission named 'Prarambh' will carry three payloads of two domestic and one foreign customer.

The Vikram-S suborbital flight will carry three payloads from Chennai startup Space Kidz, Andhra Pradesh startup N-Space Tech and Armenian startup BazumQ Space Research Lab. A Skyroot official said the six-meter-tall rocket is one of the first in the world to have 3D-printed solid thrusters for rotational stability. Indian space agency In-Space on Wednesday approved the launch of Skyroot's Vikram-S suborbital vehicle.