Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the team of Skyroot Aerospace on the successful launch of Vikram-1, saying the milestone reflects the growing strength of India’s private space sector and will encourage youngsters across the country to pursue innovation with confidence. The launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed orbital rocket under Mission Aagaman from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on July 18, 2026 made history by placing India in a group of only three countries in the world that possess private orbital launch capability.
Modi said he had been closely following the mission: “I wanted to be there with the young team, and it excites me as I was tracking the launch. Congratulations to Pawan, Bharat and the rest of the team. Your feat will inspire youngsters to come forward. I was watching the entire launch programme today. Your entire Skyroot Aerospace team looks like they are 25-30 years of age.”
“Sri Harikota, Andhra Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Skyroot Aerospace over a telephone call after India’s first privately developed orbital rocket, Vikram-1, successfully reaches orbit, completing its final burn and injecting payloads.”~PTI News
The Launch That Silenced The Sceptics And What Modi Said About It:
Recalling the initial scepticism within the government over the Centre’s decision to open India’s space sector to the private ecosystem, Modi said that Vikram-1’s success has vindicated the government’s decision. “There were a lot of concerns that were raised when the idea of opening up the space sector to the private ecosystem was first brought to me. Now my team will also have to agree that India’s youngsters are to be trusted,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s remarks were significant because they placed the Vikram-1 launch in a broader political and policy context not just a technology milestone, but proof that India’s decision to liberalise its space sector was the right call. Speaking to reporters at the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Modi said: “The youngsters working at Skyroot, their average age is just 28 years. These youngsters have done this work. I am not talking about a 56-year-old youth; I am talking about the youth with an average age of 28 years, who have held India’s flag high on the international level.”
“Spoke to the team of Skyroot Aerospace and congratulated them on the successful launch of Vikram-1. This achievement will encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly.”~Narendra Modi
What Vikram-1 Achieved: Payloads, Orbit, And A Complete Mission
The mission carried six payloads, including two satellites, into a 450-km low-Earth orbit. The test validated the rocket’s propulsion, avionics, telemetry, guidance, navigation and control systems during flight. The 24-metre carbon-composite rocket completed all planned flight stages, including stage separations and the firing of its Orbital Adjustment Module.
Skyroot CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana acknowledged to the Prime Minister during his congratulatory call that the rocket was entirely built and manufactured in India, strengthening Modi’s emphasis on the Atmanirbhar Bharat narrative. Skyroot, founded in 2018, is one of a new generation of Indian space entrepreneurs that have received funding from foreign investors since the sector’s liberalization. Former ISRO scientists Pawan Chandana and Bharath Daka co-founded the business, which first demonstrated private rocket capability in November 2022 with the suborbital Vikram-S launch.
“#MissionAagaman | Vikram-1 has successfully reached orbit! This is India’s first privately developed orbital rocket reaching space. All 6 payloads successfully deployed into a 450km LEO. A historic moment for India’s private space sector.”~Skyroot Aerospace
India Joins An Exclusive Club And 300 Space Startups Are Watching:
The launch’s geopolitical significance extends beyond national pride. Following the successful launch, India became the world’s third country with private orbital launch capabilities. That places India alongside the United States, which is home to SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and a growing list of launch providers, as well as New Zealand, where Rocket Lab operates from a private facility. No other country has reached this milestone with a privately funded and developed orbital rocket.
Modi noted that more than 300 space startups were now shaping India’s space future. With the global space economy set to grow manifold, he highlighted the opportunity this creates for India’s youth. The policy scaffolding that enabled Skyroot’s launch including the creation of IN-SPACe to give private companies access to ISRO’s infrastructure and the broader liberalisation of the space sector is now visibly bearing fruit in the most tangible way possible: an Indian private rocket reaching orbit.
For the hundreds of engineers at Skyroot with an average age of 28, and for the wider ecosystem of Indian space startups watching the launch unfold at Sriharikota, Mission Aagaman represents something more than a commercial milestone. It is confirmation that the government’s bet on India’s private space sector once doubted even by those inside the administration was worth making.
