What is Vikram-I, India’s first private rocket, unveiled by PM Modi?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled India’s first orbital rocket, Vikram-I, on Thursday. Built by Skyroot, the rocket can launch satellites to orbit.  The prime minister also inaugurated the Indian space start-up Skyroot’s Infinity Campus in Hyderabad via video conferencing. The state-of-the-art facility will have around 2,00,000 square feet of workspace for designing, developing, integrating and testing multiple launch vehicles, with a capacity to build one orbital rocket every month.

What is Skyroot Aerospace?

Skyroot is India’s leading private space company, founded by Pawan Chandana and Bharath Dhaka, both alumni of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and former ISRO scientists turned entrepreneurs.

What is Vikram-I?

Vikram-I is India’s first private space rocket. It is built by Skyroot Aerospace as its first orbital launch vehicle. Named after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s space programme, Vikram-I is designed to place satellites into orbit. The rocket is built to target the small-satellite segment and is capable of placing multiple satellites into orbit in a single mission.  

Vikram-I specs and features

1. Skyroot says Vikram-I can lift 350 kg to low Earth orbit, 260 kg to a sun-synchronous orbit, 290 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit or 480 kg to a 500 km low Earth orbit at a 45-degree inclination.
2. Vikram-I stands 20 metres tall and 1.7 metres in diameter.
3. It generates 1,200 kN of thrust and uses an all-carbon composite body to keep the vehicle lightweight.
4. Its design allows it to carry around 300 kg into low Earth orbit. 
5. The company says the rocket can be assembled and launched within 24 to 72 hours from any launch site.

In November 2022, Skyroot launched its sub-orbital rocket, Vikram-S, becoming the first Indian private company to launch a rocket to space, according to a press release by the PMO. This is looked at a step towards making India a global space power.