Skyroot's Vikram-1 Rocket Launch Set For July 18 From Sriharikota; Viewing Gallery Registrations Open

India's private space sector is set for a landmark moment as Skyroot Aerospace prepares to launch Vikram-1, the country's first private rocket, on July 18 at 11:30 am. The launch, confirmed by the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) SDSC website after registrations opened for the viewing gallery on Thursday, will take place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

With this launch, the Hyderabad-based startup becomes the first company after ISRO to send a rocket into space from Indian soil.

About The Mission

Vikram-1, a seven-storey-tall, four-stage rocket, carries multiple foreign and domestic payloads and marks Skyroot's first attempt to reach Low Earth Orbit. The company had earlier set a launch window between July 12 and August 4, depending on weather, safety and operational conditions.

The mission, called "Mission Aagaman," is Skyroot's second launch overall, following the 2022 suborbital flight of Vikram-S, which demonstrated the company's ability to reach space. Since then, Skyroot has developed Vikram-1 and Vikram-2, four-stage rockets designed to carry 350 kg and 900 kg payloads respectively.

This will also be the second launch from Sriharikota this year, after the PSLV C62 mission in January 2026 failed due to a stage-III anomaly.

"With Vikram-1, we take our biggest step yet toward a reliable, high-cadence launch programme built in India, for India and the world. This mission is designed as both a technology demonstration and a learning mission," said Naga Bharath Daka, chief operating officer and co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace, in a press release.

About Vikram-1

Built indigenously, Vikram-1 is designed to carry 350 kg of satellite payloads to space. The company's founders describe it as a "cab to space," a vehicle that satellite companies and institutions can use to place payloads into specific orbits. Its design, featuring 3D-printed engines and a carbon-fibre composite outer structure, is aimed at enabling rapid production and manufacturing.

Founded in Hyderabad in 2018 by former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot Aerospace is currently valued at $1.2 billion, making it India's first space tech unicorn.

The company operates four facilities in Hyderabad, including its latest Infinity campus, which has the capacity to build one rocket a month.