In a historic first for India’s rapidly evolving space-tech sector, Skyroot Aerospace — backed by the likes of GIC, Temasek, Blackrock among others — has successfully launched ‘Vikram-1’, its first launch vehicle. With that, Skyroot became India’s private space company to launch its own rocket for low orbital launches.
The launch happened at ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Launchpad at Sriharikota — India’s epicentre for space activities. The launch date was confirmed by the ISRO SDSC website, which opened registrations for the viewing gallery Thursday.
The rocket, Vikram-1, named after Vikram Sarabhai — regarded as the ‘Father of India’s space program’ — is a seven storey-tall rocket. It has taken Skyroot nearly 8 years and $160Mn+ in fundraise to be able to reach today’s stage. Once successful, subsequent launches could become more frequent and cheaper as technology evolves.
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