India's first privately-developed rocket reaches orbit on dramatic debut launch

Think big

“On the first attempt, reaching orbit, I never thought it was possible.”

V. Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (second from left), and Pawan Kumar Chandana, CEO of Skyroot Aerospace (second from right), pose with a replica of the Vikram-1 rocket along with other senior Indian space officials following a successful launch Saturday at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island, India.

R. Satish Babu/AFP via Getty Images

Indian space officials celebrated the debut flight of Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 rocket, India’s first fully commercial satellite launcher, as a “grand success” Saturday after an on-target climb into a 280-mile-high orbit following liftoff from an island spaceport in the Bay of Bengal.