Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 debuts, India joins 3-country private orbital club
Big news for India's space scene: Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket made its debut flight on Saturday, launching four tech demo payloads into low Earth orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
With this, India becomes one of only three countries to pull off private orbital launches, a pretty exclusive club.
PM Modi hails launch
The mission carried satellites and tech from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve Space, Skyroot itself, and even Germany's DCUBED.
Prime Minister Modi called it a "historic new frontier for India's space journey," saying it shows how recent space reforms are sparking innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
The Vikram-1's modern design (think carbon composites and 3D-printed engines) also hints at big plans ahead for India's growing space industry.