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India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket, Vikram-1 will be launched on July 18, 2026, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
Private space launch company Skyroot Aerospace on Thursday (July 16, 2026) announced that it will attempt to launch Vikram-1 from the space port’s first launch pad at 11.30 a.m.
“We have done everything that could be done to test Vikram-1 on the ground. On July 18, we are eager to see how Vikram-1 performs in a real flight environment for the first time. This is our first test flight, and we will be getting valuable data from it.
This will be foundational to Skyroot’s aspirations of establishing a launch cadence. We are excited to see this through,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder & CEO, Skyroot Aerospace.
Skyroot said all stages of Vikram-1 have been successfully integrated and stacked on the launch pad.
Following this, the final integrated checks of the vehicle on the launch pad from Skyroot’s launch control centre have been completed along with the interface checks with all the telemetry ground stations and tracking radars.
Vikram-1 is a seven-storey-tall, multi-stage orbital launch vehicle built with an all-carbon composite structure and powered by in-house-developed propulsion systems, including 3D-printed engines and high-thrust solid-fuel rocket boosters.
Designed to carry small satellites weighing up to 350 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), its first test flight is targeting a 450 km orbit at 60° inclination.
Vikram-1, will carry technology demonstration payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve, DCubed and Skyroot’s own SCOPE, along with Cosmos Diamonds’ artwork “Cosmic Bloom” and a micro-art piece.
