Private space company Skyroot Aerospace has begun operations for the second flight of its Vikram-1 launch vehicle, dispatching the rocket’s first stage to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The transit follows shortly after the launcher’s maiden orbital flight, reflecting efforts to establish a regular launch cadence within India’s commercial space sector.
Upon arrival at the spaceport, the first stage will undergo integration, structural testing, and site preparations alongside upper vehicle stages and payload assemblies. Vikram-1 is an orbital-class, small-satellite launch vehicle designed to deliver payloads of up to 350 kilograms into Low Earth Orbit. Following the successful initial flight to validate orbital insertion capabilities, the upcoming secondary launch aims to demonstrate vehicle reliability, hardware repeatability, and operational turnaround speed for potential commercial clients.
The mission reflects ongoing expansion within India’s private aerospace ecosystem, backed by regulatory oversight and infrastructure access facilitated through the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Skyroot continues testing and assembly procedures in Sriharikota ahead of finalizing a target launch window.
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