Vikram-1 is Skyroot Aerospace's orbital small-satellite launch vehicle, a four-stage rocket designed to deliver small satellites to low Earth orbit affordably and on demand.
Vikram-1
Vikram-1 is Skyroot Aerospace's orbital small-satellite launch vehicle, a four-stage rocket designed to deliver small satellites to low Earth orbit affordably and on demand.
Description
Vikram-1 is the orbital-class launch vehicle from Indian private space startup Skyroot Aerospace, named after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space program. It is a roughly 20 m tall, four-stage rocket built with an all-carbon-composite airframe: three solid-propellant stages (Kalam-1000, Kalam-250, and Kalam-100) followed by a liquid-propellant upper stage using a cluster of four in-house 3D-printed Raman-I engines burning hypergolic propellants (MMH/NTO) for orbit insertion. It targets the growing global small-satellite launch market, offering dedicated and rideshare access to LEO and SSO. Skyroot's flight heritage began with the suborbital Vikram-S demonstrator, launched 18 November 2022 from Sriharikota under Mission Prarambh, becoming India's first privately developed and launched rocket. Vikram-1 itself has not yet flown an orbital mission as of mid-2026; Skyroot announced a maiden orbital launch window of 12 July to 4 August 2026 (Mission Aagaman) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, with rocket stages delivered and stacked on the launch pad by early July 2026. A successful flight would mark India's first orbital launch by a private company.
Specifications
| Height | ~20 m |
|---|---|
| Stages | 4 (3 solid stages + 1 liquid propulsion upper stage) |
| Stage 1 | Kalam-1000, solid propellant, 1,000 kN thrust |
| Stage 2 | Kalam-250, solid propellant, 250 kN thrust |
| Stage 3 | Kalam-100, solid propellant, 100 kN thrust |
| Upper stage | Cluster of four Raman-I liquid engines (hypergolic MMH/NTO), 3.4 kN combined thrust |
| Airframe | All-carbon-composite structure |
| Payload to LEO (500 km, 45°) | Up to 480 kg |
| Payload to SSO (500 km) | Up to 290 kg |
| Flight heritage | Suborbital demonstrator Vikram-S flew successfully 18 Nov 2022 (Mission Prarambh, India's first private rocket launch, apogee ~89.5 km); orbital Vikram-1 has not yet flown as of mid-2026, with maiden orbital launch (Mission Aagaman) planned for 12 July - 4 August 2026 |