Vikram-S, the country's first privately developed rocket, was successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 18 at 11:30 am. Developed by space start-up Skyroot Aerospace under its mission 'Prarambh', the launch was held at ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The rocket reached an altitude of 89.5 km and attained a range of 121.2 km as planned.

Union Minister of state for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh took to Twitter yesterday (17th Nov, 2022) to share the news of the launch. "Arrived at #Sriharikota late this evening. Countdown begins for maiden private Rocket launch scheduled tomorrow forenoon. A new chapter in public-private-participation unfolding under Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.

Skyroot thanked the Union Minister in a tweet:


Dr Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman, IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), called it a “milestone” and “a new era” in the space history of India with a private player witnessing a successful launch. “This is a new beginning for the private players with this entry in the space sector," he asserted.

The three satellites riding piggyback on the 6-metre tall launch vehicle are from Chennai-based start-up SpaceKidz, Andhra Pradesh-based N-SpaceTech and Armenian BazoomQ Space Research Lab. The mission is titled Prarambh (The beginning).

VIKRAM-SARABHAI Launch Vehicle

The Vikram-S rocket is part of Skyroot’s Vikram series launch vehicles, which pay homage to the founder of the country’s space programme, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. The Vikram-S rocket will be powered by the Kalam 80 propulsion system that will ignite the three-stage rocket to an altitude of 120 kilometers above the surface of Earth. The mission will carry three payloads that will be deployed during the sub-orbital flight to demonstrate the capability of the rocket to take heavy payloads to space in the future.


Skyroot has been developing three variants of the Vikram rocket. While the Vikram-I can carry 480 kilograms of payload to Low Earth Orbit, the Vikram-II is equipped to lift off with 595 kilograms of cargo. Meanwhile, Vikram-III can launch with an 815 kg to 500 km Low Inclination Orbit.