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Space
Space
Science
Mike Wall

'The dawn of a new space era': Vikram-1, India's 1st private orbital rocket, aces debut launch

Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket launches on its debut mission on July 18, 2026.

An Indian company just made spaceflight history.

Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched its Vikram-1 rocket to low Earth orbit (LEO) early Saturday morning (July 18), making India just the third country with a private orbital launch capability. The other two are established space powers — the U.S. and China.

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