Spreading wings: On the Vikram-1 launch
The launch of the Vikram-1 rocket built by Skyroot Aerospace from Sriharikota marked the Indian private sector’s first orbital flight. Vikram-1 is a four-stage launcher designed to provide what Skyroot has called a “cab service” for satellites, letting customers pick their orbit and launch schedule rather than accept the orbital slot and drop-off point presented by rideshares, at a commensurate premium. Skyroot is targeting a price per launch below that of the PSLV and above that of the SSLV (projected), to be achieved in part by basing the rocket on carbon-composite structures. It also has plans for a more powerful Vikram-2 rocket. The company was founded in 2018 by two former ISRO engineers and its path to orbit followed engine tests in 2020 and a suborbital flight in 2022. For roughly six decades, ISRO held a state monopoly over launch activities in India while private firms were limited to being suppliers. Reforms since 2020 and the 2023 Space Policy opened the door for commercial players and freed ISRO to focus on R&D and scientific missions. In 2024, up to 49% FDI in launch vehicles was allowed by the automatic route. The push is also part of the government’s ambition of growing the national space economy to $44 billion by 2033 from around $8 billion alongside satellite manufacturing, communications, navigation, and earth observation. Orbital launch capability remains hard-won: India is now only the third country to host private enterprise that has demonstrated it. But now that Skyroot has proved competence in engineering, its next milestone is commercial viability, which may be harder. Specifically, the company has to demonstrate repeatability and stable launch costs in an increasingly crowded suppliers’ market that includes established ‘brands’ such as SpaceX and Rocket Lab and a bevy of rapidly scaling Chinese firms. Rideshares on larger rockets are still often cheaper per kilogram to orbit. The model Skyroot is betting on, letting customers specify orbit and schedule in return for a premium over a rideshare launch, depends on a market of uncertain size. The greater production scale will challenge the engineering, too, as batch-to-batch variability becomes harder to control. India also lacks a Space Activities Act, leaving liability to be governed by policy, contracts, existing law, and international commitments rather than statute, maintaining long-term regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the event of a launch or orbital mishap. The Vikram-1 launch is an engineering triumph. Whether it translates to commercial success, which is the real national ambition, is now the question. Published - July 20, 2026 12:10 am IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit READ LATER SEE ALL Remove Related Topics India / space programme / satellite technology / ISRO / research / science and technology / economy (general) / China / engineering / law
- 1For six decades ISRO held a state monopoly over Indian launch activity, a structure altered by 2020 space-sector reforms and the Indian Space Policy 2023, which opened commercial launch to private players and refocused ISRO on research. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, set up in 2020 under the Department of Space, now authorises and regulates private space activities. This shift reflects a broader governance trend of the state moving from direct operator to regulator in a strategic sector.
- 2Vikram-1 places India in direct competition with established global players such as SpaceX and Rocket Lab, and a fast-growing cohort of Chinese commercial launch firms backed by state-linked funding. India's push mirrors a global trend of state agencies ceding routine launches to private firms, seen in NASA's reliance on SpaceX under its Commercial Crew and Cargo programmes since the 2010s. Strategically, indigenous private launch capability also reduces India's dependence on foreign vehicles for commercial and defence-related satellite deployment.
- 3India lacks a dedicated Space Activities Act, so launch liability rests on the Indian Space Policy 2023, private contracts, and India's obligations under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and 1972 Liability Convention, both ratified by India. Under the Liability Convention, the Indian state remains internationally liable for damage caused by objects launched from its territory even when a private firm like Skyroot conducts the launch. This creates a state-versus-private accountability gap, which is the regulatory uncertainty the editorial flags as a risk if a mishap occurs.
- 4The government aims to grow India's space economy from roughly $8 billion to $44 billion by 2033, more than a five-fold rise, spanning launch vehicles, satellite manufacturing, communications, navigation and earth observation. In 2024, India permitted up to 49% FDI in launch vehicles via the automatic route, part of broader liberalisation in the sector. Skyroot itself moved from its 2018 founding through 2020 engine tests and a 2022 suborbital flight to this orbital launch, an eight-year path from startup to orbit.