India's first privately developed orbital rocket, Vikram-1, lifted off at 12:05 pm local time from Sriharikota on Sunday, delivering six payloads into a 450-kilometre low Earth orbit after a mission set to make the country the third to achieve a private orbital launch.
The 22-metre, three-stage vehicle, built with an all-carbon composite structure and the indigenously developed Kalam-100 engine, carried Skyroot's SCOPE satellite, Grahaa Space's SOLARAS, Cosmoserve Space's Embrace debris-capture experiment, and two payloads from German firm DCubed. Symbolic cargo included a lab-grown diamond lotus, a microscopic gold rocket and a handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hailed the launch as an inspiration for young people to dream bigger.
Manufacturer Skyroot Aerospace, which reached a $1 billion valuation earlier this year, said further test flights would precede regular commercial operations as it aims to offer a 'cab service to space' for small satellite operators.