As Vikram-1 reaches orbit, Skyroot faces a steep climb to business success
India had its first private orbital rocket launch at 12.05 p.m. on July 18. So far, all orbital rockets India had launched as part of
India had its first private orbital rocket launch at 12.05 p.m. on July 18. So far, all orbital rockets India had launched as part of its space programme had been state-funded and led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace changed that by launching its small-satellite launch vehicle Vikram-1 to a low-earth orbit. The mission has been dubbed ‘Aagaman’, Hindi for ‘arrival’. Since 2020, the Indian government has opened the domestic space sector to private companies by creating institutions such as IN-SPACe and allowing private firms to build launch vehicles and use ISRO infrastructure. Thus far, worldwide, only a small number of private companies have successfully developed orbital launch vehicles, including SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, and a clutch of Chinese firms. A similarly short list of others, including ABL Space Systems and Isar Aerospace, are still searching for success. Significant feat A successful first flight is a significant feat. Many rockets, including the storied Falcon 9, have failed their maiden flights. But the same feat also shows the full context in which Skyroot is now operating. As a commercial entity, a single launch — crucial though it is — will not catapult the company to success. The global small-satellite launch market is evolving and there are still considerable challenges, including domestic demand and market uncertainties. ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka founded Skyroot Aerospace in 2018. It had its first milestone in 2022 when it successfully launched Vikram-S, the first privately developed Indian rocket on a suborbital flight. Vikram-1 is a four-stage rocket. The first three stages use solid fuel and the fourth uses liquid fuel.
Skyroot has said that once its manufacturing has been streamlined, it will be able to produce one Vikram-1 rocket per month. Mission Aagaman was a developmental flight of Vikram-1. This means the company tested the rocket by putting it through its paces, especially to check parameters that cannot be fully understood unless the rocket is flying. According to the company, Mission Aagaman was to validate stage separation, propulsion, guidance and navigation, structural performance, avionics, fairing deployment, upper-stage separation, and orbital insertion. Inserting itself into the intended orbit would have been the mission’s hardest part, as the launch vehicle would have had to accelerate to high speed while maintaining its guidance and propulsion. It also carried some payloads, although the primary mission focused on the rocket itself. Vikram-1 has a payload capacity of 290 kg to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit and 480 kg to a low-inclination orbit at similar altitude. Skyroot has said it will have two more developmental flights after this before the rocket will be deemed market-ready. “The company’s roadmap includes Vikram-2, capable of carrying up to 1,000 kg to low-earth orbit, with its maiden flight targeted for 2027, and a fully reusable launch vehicle, with both booster and upper stage engineered for recovery and reuse,” the company said in a post-launch statement. Building a business Building rockets is one thing. Building a business is another — and arguably significantly more valuable. Broadly, the small-satellite launch market in which Skyroot is hoping to excel has become challenging. A successful business today requires growth as well as industrial maturity and access to demand. In the half-decade until 2021, many forecasts anticipated a boom in the demand for launching satellites weighing 100-500 kg.
The BriefWire