Mission Aagaman: Skyroot’s Historic Vikram-1 launch delayed briefly as rocket enters internal hold
Updated: July 18, 2026, 11:48 AM IST
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India is on the verge of a major achievement in its space programme as Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace prepares to launch its Vikram-1 rocket on its first orbital mission. If successful, India will become only the third nation, after the United States and China, to have a private company capable of sending a rocket into orbit.
The Vikram-1 rocket, named after Indian space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai, has been put on a “planned hold” just minutes before the scheduled liftoff from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Standing about as tall as a seven-storey building, the rocket is designed to place payloads into Low Earth Orbit, around 450 km above Earth. A successful mission would mark a major step forward for India’s growing private space sector.
Skyroot says its long-term goal is to make access to space easier by offering a service similar to booking a cab. The company wants customers to be able to book a rocket to carry satellites to a specific orbit or support future space missions with ease.
Vikram-1 follows the success of Vikram-S, Skyroot’s first suborbital rocket, which was launched in November 2022 under Mission Prarambh. That mission made history by becoming the first privately developed Indian rocket to reach space and paved the way for the company’s next big mission.
