New Delhi, July 18: ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan on Saturday hailed the successful maiden orbital launch of Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 as a landmark achievement for India’s private space sector, saying it reflects the rapid growth of the country’s space ecosystem.
Speaking after the successful Mission Aagaman launch, Narayanan said developing an orbital launch vehicle and achieving mission success on the first attempt within just eight years of the company’s inception was an extraordinary accomplishment.
“Skyroot Aerospace started just eight years back, and developing an orbital launch vehicle and making it a successful mission on the first attempt is really a great achievement,” Narayanan said.
He added that India’s space ecosystem has expanded rapidly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with private companies playing an increasingly important role alongside the national space programme.
“It is a great satisfaction for everyone in our country, especially the space community. We are proud of this achievement. India’s space ecosystem is growing rapidly,” he said.
Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) Chairman Pawan Goenka also praised the mission, describing it as “an India moment” rather than comparing it with achievements elsewhere.
“I don’t want to call it a SpaceX moment because I don’t want to compare what happened today with another company. What we witnessed today was an India moment,” Goenka said while congratulating the Skyroot Aerospace team.
Earlier, Goenka formally announced the successful completion of India’s first private sector orbital launch, noting that the mission exceeded its primary objective.
“I am pleased to formally announce that the first-ever Indian private sector launch has been successfully completed. Vikram-1 not only cleared the launch tower but successfully reached a 453-km orbit,” he said.
Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1 under Mission Aagaman from the First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Saturday, marking a historic milestone for India’s commercial space industry. (Maxim News)
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