Indian startup Skyroot Aerospace said on Thursday it would hold the maiden test flight of the country’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket in the coming weeks.
The Vikram-1 rocket, designed to carry small satellites into low-Earth orbit, will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota between July 12 and Aug 4, the company said.
“The countdown to history has begun,” Skyroot co-founder and chief executive Pawan Kumar Chandana said in a social media post.
“What once was a bold dream now stands tall on the launch pad. Vikram-1. India’s first private orbital rocket.”
The rocket, about as tall as a seven-storey building, is capable of carrying payloads weighing up to 300kg.
“Skyroot plans to commence full-scale commercial launch operations after one or two successful orbital demonstration missions,” The Hindu newspaper reported.
The rocket is a significant step for India’s space industry, which was opened to greater private-sector participation in 2020, with New Delhi seeking to capture a larger share of the rapidly growing global space economy.
India, the world’s most populous country, has built a reputation for delivering low-cost space missions and now hosts more than 400 space startups.
Its space economy is currently valued at about US$8bil (RM32.6bil) and accounts for around 2% to 3% of the global market, according to government figures released last month. The government estimates the sector could grow to US$40-50bil (RM163-203bil) over the next decade.
India’s space ambitions have gathered pace in recent years. In August 2023, it became only the fourth country to successfully land an unmanned spacecraft on the Moon, after Russia, the United States and China.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also outlined plans to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040. — AFP
