Private Rocket Vikram-1 Hits Orbit After Launchpad Drama at Sriharikota

India's first privately built orbital rocket, Vikram-1, successfully reached space today, making the country one of only three nations with a commercial sector capable of launching satellites into orbit.

The flight, named Mission Aagaman, was carried out by Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace. However, the milestone was nearly derailed by last-minute technical problems on the launchpad.

Engineers and guests at ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre held their breath when the countdown clock suddenly stopped just minutes before the scheduled 11:30 AM lift-off.

Ground control called a freeze after instruments flagged a critical issue with the rocket's navigation and guidance software.

A minor alignment error in an orbital flight can destroy the entire vehicle. Teams spent a tense 35 minutes re-calibrating the software while the rocket sat fueled on the pad.

At 12:05 PM, technicians cleared the fault, the automated launch sequence took over, and the countdown finally resumed.

The seven-storey carbon-composite rocket launched with a massive roar, successfully parting from its stages during a 16-minute climb. It placed its payloads into a 450-kilometre low Earth orbit.

Skyroot aims to run the rocket like a "space cab service," offering commercial clients quick, dedicated launches instead of making them wait for massive government missions.

Following the successful deployment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the Skyroot team to offer his congratulations, stating the achievement would inspire the next generation of Indian tech innovators.