India's Private Space Sector Soars: Vikram-1 Rocket Ready for Test Flight, Drishti Satellite Breaks Imaging Barriers

India's private space sector is reaching new milestones as two major developments take centre stage: the upcoming test flight of Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket and the innovative Drishti satellite by GalaxEye. These advancements highlight the growing capability of Indian startups in space technology.

Vikram-1, India's first privately built orbital rocket, is set for its maiden test flight under 'Mission Aagaman'. Skyroot announced on July 2 that the launch window opens from July 12 to August 4 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The rocket is designed to carry small satellites, featuring an all-carbon composite structure, solid fuel boosters, and a 3D-printed liquid engine. Manufactured entirely in India, Vikram-1 can deliver payloads of up to 350 kg to low Earth orbit and up to 260 kg to Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) — a near-polar orbit where a satellite passes over any given point on Earth at the same local solar time each day.

According to Skyroot's website, Vikram-1 is an 'on-demand launch vehicle for rapid, precise, and customisable small satellite deployments'. The rocket is fully autonomous, with guidance, navigation, and control systems coordinated by its onboard mission computer, Ramanujan. The company has documented the rocket's development on YouTube and Instagram, emphasising that it has 'no pilot and no joystick, just the onboard intelligence that gets it to orbit'.

This flight follows Skyroot's earlier success in November 2022 with 'Mission Prarambh', when the sub-orbital Vikram-S rocket became India's first privately built vehicle to reach space. Vikram-S circled Earth but did not deploy satellites. Skyroot is also the first Indian space startup to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch a rocket.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad-based startup GalaxEye is preparing to launch Drishti, a first-of-its-kind satellite that combines optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. Drishti is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of the CAS500-2 mission. Traditional imaging satellites typically carry either optical sensors or SAR, each with limitations: optical images are clear but ineffective in cloudy weather or at night, while SAR penetrates clouds but produces images that require expert interpretation. Additionally, separate satellites often look at different locations or at different times, complicating data integration.

Drishti solves this by mounting both sensors on the same satellite and operating them in sync, capturing simultaneous optical and SAR images of the same spot. This eliminates the need for users to manually align datasets from different satellites, providing clearer, more intuitive imagery for applications such as disaster response, agriculture, and defence.

These developments underscore the rapid growth of India's private space sector, which is building on the foundation laid by ISRO. As more startups enter the field, India's capabilities in satellite deployment and Earth observation are expanding, offering new opportunities for scientific research and commercial services.