India’s private space sector has moved a step closer to a landmark achievement as Skyroot Aerospace successfully stacked the 1st stage of its Vikram-I rocket at ISRO’s First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The milestone brings India’s 1st privately built orbital launch vehicle closer to its maiden mission.
According to Skyroot, this is the 1st time a privately designed, developed and manufactured orbital launch vehicle has been stacked on ISRO’s First Launch Pad, which has previously supported major missions such as Chandrayaan and the Mars Orbiter Mission.
Sharing images of the rocket assembly, the company described the achievement as a significant step towards launch. “Piece by piece, Vikram-I is coming alive — each stage carefully lifted, aligned and integrated into a single flight-ready rocket,” Skyroot said in a post on X.
Rocket stacking is one of the final and most critical stages before launch. During this process, individual rocket stages, payload structures and other components are assembled vertically with high precision. Once integration is complete, the vehicle will undergo electrical, mechanical and fueling readiness checks before entering the final launch countdown.
Named after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Vikram-I has been developed to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit. The rocket represents one of India’s most significant privately built launch systems since the country’s space sector was opened to private participation.
The latest milestone comes nearly 3 years after Skyroot successfully launched Vikram-S, India’s 1st privately developed rocket to reach space, in November 2022. Since then, the Hyderabad-based company has completed multiple engine tests, stage qualification trials and launch vehicle integration activities in preparation for its 1st orbital mission.
A successful launch of Vikram-I is expected to strengthen India’s commercial space ecosystem by demonstrating the capability of private companies to build and launch orbital-class rockets. It could also open new opportunities for India in the rapidly growing global small satellite launch market, supported by ISRO’s launch infrastructure and continued collaboration with private space startups.
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