Before the launch of Vikram 1, I wanted to put together what is known from various online sources about the launch vehicle and the various payloads that will fly.
The first launch by a private launch vehicle from Indian soil is on the horizon. The latest NOTAM put out seems to point at a launch sometime after July 12 (and latest by August 4) from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota. NOTAMs can change. The first mission of Vikram 1 is the Flight Test 1 or Mission Aagaman (Arrival).
Vikram 1 is a four stage launch vehicle. The first three stages are solid and the fourth stage is liquid. The first three stages are powered by the Kalam 1200, Kalam 250, and Kalam 100 engines respectively. The fourth stage is called an Orbital Adjustment Module is powered by four Raman 2 engines.
Skyroot Aerospace has been building a launch vehicle since their first test of Kalam 5 in December 2020. Their subsequent tests tested out bigger size solid motors – the Kalam 250 in March 2024. They also worked on the liquid fuelled Raman 2 engines since July 2023.
Visit the Skyroot Aerospace YouTube channel for some wonderful videos.
Skyroot Aerospace’s first launch was the Vikram S. Named after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai—the father of India’s space program—it successfully reached a peak altitude of 89.5 km during its historic maiden flight on November 18, 2022, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. They launched from their own launch pad.
There have been reports in regional media about the launch as the rocket segments moved from their factory in Hyderabad to Sriharikota. The fuel that the solid stages were to be used were to be filled at ISRO Solid Propellant Plant (SPP) at Sriharikota.
Skyroot announced the payloads on 6 July 2026.
Dcubed (Deployables Cubed GmbH) is a German NewSpace hardware manufacturer headquartered near Munich, specializing in in-space manufacturing and deployable space technologies. They are widely known for producing high-performance micro-actuators, release nuts, launch locks, and deployable solar arrays designed to maximize payload power while minimizing launch volume. Dcubed plans to demonstrate its proprietary space hardware technologies: the uD3PP (micro Dcubed Pin Puller) and the mD3RN (micro Dcubed Release Nut).
Grahaa Space (legally registered as zSpaze Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) is a prominent Bengaluru-based Indian spacetech startup focused on Earth observation. Founded by former ISRO scientist Dr. Loganathan Muthuswamy and ex-IBM/Dell executive Ramesh Kumar V, the company is building an advanced constellation of nano-satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) designed to stream near-real-time, high-resolution geospatial video data.
Their first mission, Solaras S2 which flew on South Korea’s HANBIT-NANO operated by Innospace launched on December 23, 2025, from the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil due to a launch failure. This is their next mission.
Cosmoserve Space is an emerging Indian space technology startup specialized in Active Debris Removal (ADR) and space sustainability. Founded in 2025 by former ISRO scientist Chiranjeevi Phanindra, the company is headquarted in Hyderabad. They are developing autonomous, robotic spacecraft designed to safely de-orbit dead satellites and dangerous orbital clutter.
Cosmoserve released their mission patch in a video on LinkedIn. Varun Guru posted a nice explainer on how the mission is expected to work on X.
There is very little known about the satellite that Skyroot has built.
Cosmos Diamonds is sending a lab grown orbit into space. Watch this video for more:
I hope they also reveal the story behind the micro sculpture. I was able to find the website of the artist Ajay Kumar Mattewada.
While the focus will primarily be on the launch vehicle, I had fun learning about these ‘payloads’ as well.
Parallel Spirals 