India's private space sector reached a historic milestone this weekend when Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched the Vikram-1, the nation's first privately developed orbital rocket. The mission, dubbed 'Mission Aagaman,' lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 0635 GMT, carrying multiple customer payloads and in-orbit experiments. About 15 minutes later, the rocket injected its payload into a 450 km orbit, making India only the third country to achieve orbital launch capability through a private company. Main Developments Initially scheduled for 0600 GMT, the launch faced a temporary hold before being rescheduled. Skyroot confirmed the mission's success in a statement, calling it 'a grand success,' while emphasizing that this remains a test flight with several more planned before routine commercial operations begin. The Vikram-1 stands about 22 metres (72 feet) tall and is designed to carry payloads of up to 350 kg into low-Earth orbit. It employs three solid-fuel stages and a liquid-fuel orbital adjustment module powered by a 3D-printed engine—technologies the company says are being flown for the first time in India. Read also: Why Kotak Bank's 26% profit jump signals a shifting Indian lending landscape Background Founded in 2018, Skyroot Aerospace emerged from a new wave of Indian space startups that gained momentum after the government opened the space sector to private investment in 2020. Previously, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) held a monopoly on rocket-building, satellite development, and launch services for decades. This launch follows Skyroot's Vikram-S mission in 2022, which became the first privately developed rocket to reach space from Indian soil on a suborbital flight. The company later became the first space-sector startup in India to hit a $1 billion valuation earlier this year, attracting global investors drawn by the sector's liberalisation. Why It Matters The mission arrives amid intensifying competition in the global small satellite launch market, where startups are challenging incumbents led by SpaceX. Governments across Europe and Asia are backing domestic launch companies to secure independent access to space, as both commercial and defence demand accelerates. India's government aims to increase the country's share of the global space economy from about $8 billion currently to $44 billion by 2033, betting that private companies like Skyroot can help it compete against dominant players in the United States, Europe, and China. What's Next Skyroot plans to conduct several more test flights before transitioning to routine commercial launches. The Vikram-1 mission is designed to validate the rocket's propulsion, avionics, telemetry, guidance, navigation, and control systems in flight while gathering data for future commercial operations. The company is carrying experimental and customer payloads from Indian and overseas organisations, including technology demonstration satellites and in-orbit experiments.