India's Skyroot Aerospace readies country's first private orbital rocket launch

Indian space startup Skyroot Aerospace said on Thursday it was preparing for the launch of its Vikram-1 rocket, the first attempt by an Indian private company to place a satellite in orbit.

Founded by former Indian Space Research Organisation engineers, Skyroot is developing small rockets similar to those built by Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace.

The Vikram-1, a seven-stories-tall, multi-stage launch vehicle, is designed to carry payloads of up to 350 kilograms into the low Earth orbit.

Skyroot, which became India’s first space startup to reach a $1 billion valuation after raising $60 million from GIC and Sherpalo Ventures in May, has set a July 12 - August 4 launch window for the maiden flight from the country’s main spaceport, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

The test flight, carrying a mix of domestic and international customers, aims primarily to collect in-flight performance data across propulsion, guidance and stage separation systems, the company said.

The launch comes as India opens its state-dominated space sector to private companies, seeking a bigger share of the global market for satellite launches and related services.

Industrial groups such as Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are also moving into rocket manufacturing as the government pushes to build a $44 billion space economy by 2033.